Why don't U.S. boards get more involved in strategy?

Abstract

About 5 years ago there was strong interest in the United States in increasing the role of the Board in corporate strategy development. In practice, these expectations were not met. The reasons include: lack of governmental and other pressures; the lack of conspicuous 'success' stories among major companies with active Board committees of this kind; and general reappraisals of the strategic planning process itself. There are continuing grounds for skepticism. Nevertheless, there are some reasons for optimism, including two surveys of Boards of Directors indicating that expectations continue to glow.