4. Exploratory learning, transformative learning and exploitative learning mediate the relationship between presence of knowledge and skills and board task performance,
4.3 Tests of hypotheses
4.3.1 Results from the regression analyses
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Table 25: Regressions - results for the control task
Control variables, independent and mediating and dependent variables
Model I Model II Model III Model IV Model V Model VI
High tech firm 0.028 -0.018 -0.039 -0.021 -0.032 -0.042
Firm size 0.089 0.105* 0.069 0.072 0.100# 0.073 Number of board members -0.115 -0.088 -0.063 -0.071 -0.099 -0.071 Board ownership 0.003 0.014 -0.005 0.021 -0.017 -0.029 Chair ownership 0.089# 0.024 0.008 0.012 -0.015 -0.034 TMT ownership 0.143** 0.021 0.059 0.014 0.015 0.047 CEO duality 0.113* 0.084* 0.082* 0.091* 0.079# 0.073# Insider ratio 0.081 0.044 0.031 0.067 0.078 0.076# Number of employee elected board members 0.086 0.093 0.083 0.102# 0.076 0.053 Presence of
knowledge and skills
0.527*** 0.333*** 0.392*** 0.486*** 0.286*** Exploratory learning 0.412*** 0.407*** Transformative learning 0.242*** 0.039 Exploitative learning 0.142** 0.066# R2 0.096 0.335 0.466 0.374 0.340 0.472 Adjusted R2 0.078 0.320 0.453 0.358 0.321 0.454 F-value 5.275*** 22.457*** 35.270*** 24.035*** 18.324*** 26.674*** N = 457 457 457 455 404 402 # - p<0.1, * - p<0.05, ** - p<0.01, *** - p<0.001
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Table 26: Regressions - results for the service task
Control variables, independent and mediating and dependent variables
Model I Model II Model III Model IV Model V Model VI
High tech firm -0.011 -0.053 -0.070# -0.058 -0.061 -0.051
Firm size 0.148* 0.163*** 0.135** 0.124** 0.096# 0.003 Number of board members -0.139* -0.114# -0.095 -0.084 -0.094 0.029 Board ownership -0.005 0.005 -0.010 0.019 0.004 0.020 Chair ownership 0.087# 0.028 0.015 0.026 0.026 0.046 TMT ownership 0.187*** 0.073 0.103* 0.070 0.068 0.056 CEO duality -0.008 -0.035 -0.037 -0.026 -0.014 -0.037 Insider ratio -0.021 -0.055 -0.065 -0.035 -0.059 -0.034 Number of employee elected board members -0.116# -0.110# -0.118* -0.094 -0.093 -0.133** Presence of
knowledge and skills
0.487*** 0.335*** 0.314*** 0.473*** 0.150*** Exploratory learning 0.324*** 0.493*** Transformative learning 0.323*** 0.186*** Exploitative learning 0.127** 0.050 R2 0.110 0.314 0.395 0.387 0.335 0.558 Adjusted R2 0.092 0.299 0.380 0.372 0.316 0.543 F-value 6.131*** 20.434*** 26.426*** 25.469**** 17.947*** 37.619*** N = 457 457 457 455 404 402 # - p<0.1, * - p<0.05, ** - p<0.01, *** - p<0.001
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Table 27: Regressions - results for the strategy task
Control variables, independent and mediating and dependent variables
Model I Model II Model III Model IV Model V Model VI
High tech firm 0.069 0.043 0.022 0.037 0.108 -0.002
Firm size 0.044 0.053 0.021 0.011 0.000 -0.037 Number of board members 0.144* 0.159* 0.181** 0.187** 0.139* -0.175** Board ownership 0.032 0.038 0.020 0.052 -0.004 0.003 Chair ownership 0.089# 0.052 0.036 0.046 0.006 0.006 TMT ownership 0.168** 0.099# 0.135** 0.094# 0.090 0.113* CEO duality 0.044 0.027 0.025 0.037 0.068 0.066 Insider ratio -0.013 -0.033 -0.046 -0.009 -0.014 -0.010 Number of employee elected board members -0.103 -0.099 -0.109# -0.083 -0.061 -0.063 Presence of
knowledge and skills
0.297*** 0.115* 0.110* 0.269*** 0.054 Exploratory learning 0.387*** 0.262*** Transformative learning 0.347*** 0.197*** Exploitative learning 0.226*** 0.162*** R2 0.042 0.118 0.233 0.200 0.172 0.280 Adjusted R2 0.022 0.098 0.214 0.180 0.149 0.256 F-value 2.146* 5.925*** 12.261*** 10.063*** 7.399*** 11.619*** N = 456 456 456 454 404 402 # - p<0.1, * - p<0.05, ** - p<0.01, *** - p<0.001
The tables report several findings:
First, some of the control variables and the independent variable, presence of knowledge and
skills, are significantly and positively related to all three board tasks. Second, presence of
knowledge and skills has a stronger correlation to the service and control tasks, compared
with the strategy task, but all relationships are significant. Third, exploratory, transformative
and exploitative learning have a positive and significant impact on board task performance
when tested individually (model III-V) and simultaneously (model VI).
Fourth, the impact on board task performance (control, service and strategy) by presence of
knowledge and skills has lower values in all models when the mediators are included in the
equations. For exploratory, transformative and exploitative learning a positive mediation is
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presence and knowledge and skills is highest on the control task, the mediation is strongest for
strategy. Sixth, for this task, the significance level of presence of knowledge and skills is also
reduced when mediation is tested with exploratory or transformative learning.
Furthermore, the mediation between presence of knowledge and skills and board strategy is
full when the complementarities of the learning processes are included (model VI). In the
other models and for the other tasks, the mediation is partial. In model III-V all the mediations
are significant on the 0.001 level, with one exception: for exploitative learning, individually
tested (model V), the significance is 0.01 for the service task.
In model VI, with all three mediators included in the regressions, mediating effects of at least
two out of three learning processes are significantly confirmed for all three tasks:
1. For the control task exploratory learning generally stands out as the strongest
mediator, while transformative learning is not a significant mediator, and the
significance of exploitative learning goes down from 0.001 to 0.1
2. For the service task, a significant mediation on the 0.001 level is confirmed for
exploratory learning and for transformative learning, while exploitative learning is no
longer a significant mediator
3. Finally, as reported above, a full mediation is present for the strategy task when the
simultaneous effect of the three mediators is tested. The significance level in this test
is 0.001 for all three mediators
Finally, as reported in section 3.5.3, VIF (Variance inflation factors) were calculated to
recheck for multicollinearity. The highest VIF found in the model with simultaneous
meditation of the three learning processes (model VI), was 1.7. In the other models VIF
varied between 1 and 3, which is well within an acceptable range (Hair et al, 2010).
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are highest in model VI (with the simultaneous mediating) for all three board tasks, which
indicates presence of complementarities between the learning processes.
The level of adjusted R square is further highest for the service task, slightly lower for the
control task and lowest for the strategy task. However, a level higher than 0.5 for the service
task and 0.4 for control is remarkable. Further, all F-values are significant on a 0.001 level
with good values in all models with one exception – model I when testing the strategy task.
In conclusion, the findings confirm that presence of knowledge and skills is a predictor of
absorptive capacity with the three explanatory dimensions: exploratory learning,
transformative learning and exploitative learning. These results fit well in with earlier studies
and research: Cohen and Levinthal (1990) and Todorova and Durisin (2007) derived
"knowledge source" and "prior knowledge" as the main antecedents of absorptive capacity
(Cohen & Levinthal, 1990; Todorova & Durisin, 2007), while Zahra and George extended
with the concept "knowledge complementarity", the degree to which the knowledge fits in
with the actual needs of the company (Zahra & George, 2002). Furthermore, the three
learning processes are individually and complementarily significant mediators on the
relationship between presence of knowledge and skills and board task performance.
The complementarities of the learning processes as described in the literature (Lane et al,
2006; Lichtenthaler, 2009) are supported in this study. Complementarities imply that the
magnitude of the overall absorptive capacity effect is larger than the sum of the marginal
effects from each process. The findings therefore confirm that absorptive capacity as a whole,
i.e. the combination of all the three learning processes, represents an important and adequate
factor for explaining the level of board task performance.
This study thus supports the hypotheses, defining absorptive capacity as a significant mediator
on board task performance (the strategy, service and control task) with presence of knowledge
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a board context, here described by board task performance and presence of knowledge and
skills in boards.
A full overview of the results of the hypothesis tests are presented in the table below:
Table 28: Results from hypotheses tests
Regressions
Results Sig.
H1a Exploratory learning mediates the relationship between presence of knowledge and skills and board control performance.
Supported p<0.001
H1b Hypothesis 1b: Exploratory learning mediates the relationship between presence of knowledge and skills and board service performance.
Supported p<0.001
H1c Hypothesis 1c: Exploratory learning mediates the relationship between presence of knowledge and skills and board strategy performance.
Supported P<0.001
H2a Transformative learning mediates the relationship between presence of knowledge and skills and board control performance.
Supported p<0.001
H2b Transformative learning mediates the relationship between presence of knowledge and skills and board service performance.
Supported p<0.001
H2c Transformative learning mediates the relationship between presence of knowledge and skills and board strategy performance.
Supported P<0.001
H3a Exploitative learning mediates the relationship between presence of knowledge and skills and board control performance.
Supported p<0.001
H3b Exploitative learning mediates the relationship between presence of knowledge and skills and board service performance.
Supported p<0.01
H3c Exploitative learning mediates the relationship between presence of knowledge and skills and board strategy performance.
Supported P<0.001
H4a Exploratory learning, transformative learning and exploitative learning
Partly supported
Exploratory P<0.001,
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mediate the relationship between presence of knowledge and skills and board control performance.
transformative not supported, Exploitative, p<0.1
H4b Exploratory learning, transformative learning and exploitative learning mediate the relationship between presence of knowledge and skills and board service performance.
Partly supported Exploratory p<0.001, transformative p<0.001, exploitative not supported H4c Exploratory learning, transformative
learning and exploitative learning mediate the relationship between presence of knowledge and skills and board strategy performance.
Supported, full
mediation
P<0.001