Abstract
Nonprofit boards are responsible for hiring executives, but may approach the task with limited guidance or experience. Evidence of a board’s leadership during a transition is found in their recruitment job ad or the announcement they make about the new executive’s appointment. Yet, we have limited empirical evidence of what happens behind closed doors as a transition is initiated and decisions are made. This study implemented a paired survey approach among a group of 94 organizational cases and their board members who recently were involved in a nonprofit executive transition. An initial survey was distributed when the board was in the midst or recently emerged from a transition, and a follow‐up was distributed a year later. Taken together, this descriptive, exploratory study offers insights about how boards face the daunting task of a leadership transition, including what boards prioritize for a transition’s outcome and executive recruits, the reasons for the approach they take in fulfilling this governance responsibility, and the outcomes derived from the transition. The findings inform propositions to advance research on board governance at this critical juncture for nonprofits.