Knowledge and Accountability: Outside Directors Contribution in the Corporate Value Chain

In this chapter we position outside directors´ contribution in the corporate value chain. Our objective is to show how outside board members may contribute to value creation through knowledge and accountability. We will also provide tools for outside board members to make contributions. Accountability is discussed in relation to board task expectations, and we introduce a board task taxonomy. This taxonomy is related to the various parts of the corporate value chain. The value chain approach shows various requirements to the knowledge and competency of the outside directors, and to the inner working of boards.