This open access book empirically analyses the competences (input) moderators (process) and
disclosure (output) of board chair succession practices for publicly listed organisations in
Switzerland. As primus inter pares (Latin for first among equals) the chair of the board of
directors holds a unique organisational position. For fulfilling the non-transferable duties
pursuant to Article 716a revCO it is essential that the chair is a person who has rational
economic and socio-emotional skills. To date however it is unclear how organisations
structure the search for a chairperson. On the one hand this ambiguity arises from a legal
perspective as succession-related formal regulations (hard law) or best-governance principles
(soft law) are rare and often lack specificity and on the other hand from a business
perspective as there is a lack of sufficient attention and diligence. Previous research on
board governance has primarily focused on the dyadic relationship between board composition and
organisational performance (board effectiveness research). However as board succession is a
dynamic process the research focus should go beyond a pure output performance paradigm.
