The boards of international governmental organizations: Delegated controllers, resource providers, or efficiency maximizers?

In understanding what determines the board design of International Governmental Organizations (IGOs), we find that the organizational characteristics are central drivers. This article explores board design determinants by testing hypotheses derived from the Corporate Governance and International Relations literatures. We operationalize the characteristics of IGOs (membership, size, age, and being an International Financial Institution) and their boards (number of directors, director requirements, board duties). Key findings are: IGOs with greater number of members have smaller boards; older IGOs and those with large budgets demand more requirements from their prospective board directors; IGOs with smaller budgets and older IGOs have boards withmore duties and capacities. Overall, the mechanisms of coordination costs, resourcefulness, and delegation seem all at play.