Should nomination committees be board sub-committees or shareholders’ committees. Views of different interest parties

• Published in: Tímarit um viðskipti og efnahagsmál
• Main Authors: Magnúsdóttir, Hildur, Arnardóttir, Auður Arna, Sigurjónsson, Þröstur Olaf
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: Icelandic
• Published: Institute of Business Research 2021
• Subjects: Nomination Committees; Corporate Governance; Sub-committees; Iceland; Nordic countries; G30; G34; Tilnefningarnefndir; stjórnarhættir; undirnefndir; Ísland; Norðurlönd
• Online Access: http://www.efnahagsmal.is/article/view/a.2021.18.1.4; https://doi.org/10.24122/tve.a.2021.18.1.4

Nomination Committees have recently emerged in the context of corporate governance, both in Iceland and other countries; most Icelandic-listed firms have now established them. There are different academic and business world opinions on the committees’ rationale, practices, and structure. The committees are operated in different ways within Nordic corporate governance norms, i.e., they are either directly subordinate to shareholders or appointed as board subcommittees. Previous research on nomination committees show that their existence can positively affect corporate governance, and that their work can lead to a better process for appointing directors. The committees have not been examined in Iceland before and this research aims to document original insight into their organization. Interviews were conducted with thirteen individuals who are shareholders, board members of listed companies, or committee members. In addition, a questionnaire was sent to shareholders, board members, nomination committee members of the 300 largest companies in Iceland. The findings show that nomination committees in Iceland should be shareholders’ committees instead of board sub-committees. Shareholders should also elect the committee members at shareholders’ meetings. The results can benefit shareholders and boards when establishing and organizing nomination committees. Tilnefningarnefndir eru tiltölulega nýjar sem þáttur í stjórnarháttum fyrirtækja á Íslandi, en slík nefnd var fyrst sett á laggirnar árið 2014. Frá þeim tíma hafa slíkar nefndir verið að ryðja sér til rúms á Íslandi en þær eiga sér lengri sögu erlendis. Meirihluti skráðra fyrirtækja á Íslandi hefur í dag stofnað tilnefningarnefndir, en það eru þó skiptar skoðanir um ágæti nefndanna bæði meðal fræðimanna og stjórnenda. Innan Norðurlandanna starfa tilnefningarnefndir ólíkt hvað stjórnarhætti viðkemur, þar sem þær heyra ýmist beint undir hluthafa eða eru skipaðar sem undirnefndir stjórna. Hér er um að ræða mikilvægan mun eftir því hvor leiðin er farin, því áhrif á ...