Former Government Officials as Outside Directors: The Role of Human and Social Capital

2008/10/01 by Richard H. Lester, Amy Hillman, Amy J. Hillman +2 · 417 citations
Business, Management and Accounting · Social Sciences · #Accounting #Business #Corporate Finance and Governance #Economic growth #Economics #Financial capital #Function (biology) #Government (linguistics) #Human capital #Human resources #Individual capital #Law #Management #Nonprofit Sector and Volunteering #Political Influence and Corporate Strategies #Political science #Public relations #Social capital #Value (mathematics)

paper · doi:10.5465/amj.2008.34789675

published in Academy of Management Journal 51(5), 999-1013 (Academy of Management)

openalex publication_date 2008/10/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05

Abstract

The resources that individual directors bring to corporate boards are largely a function of their human and social capital. Although research has explored the value of having former federal government officials join boards, we study factors that make one particular former government official more, or less, attractive as a director than another. Specifically, we explore the depth, breadth, and deterioration of former government officials' human and social capital and find that these dimensions of human and social capital are influential predictors of corporate outside directorships.

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