Dual Purpose Corporations and Boards Expertise - an Exploratory Study in French Société à Mission

The rise of dual-purpose corporations reflects a growing need to align financial objectives with societal and environmental commitments. In this context, the French sociétés à mission offer an innovative governance model, characterized by a dual-board structure comprising a traditional board of directors (BoD) and an independent mission committee. This study investigates how competencies are distributed across these two entities.Using a competency-based framework (Adams et al., 2018), we analyze a sample of 20 sociétés à mission, representing diverse sectors and sizes. Data collection involved reviewing mission committee reports, LinkedIn profiles, and corporate documents to map the expertise of 150 mission committee members and 226 directors.The results reveal significant polarization in skillsets between governance bodies. Boards of directors predominantly possess generalist competencies, such as finance, management, and risk control, reflecting their focus on strategic coherence and operational oversight. In contrast, mission committees demonstrate strong specialization in sustainability and scientific expertise, with external members playing a crucial role in bridging knowledge gaps. Interestingly, while these bodies exhibit distinct functional specializations, they also share common competencies in business acumen, enabling cross-functional dialogue on the interplay between profit and purpose. This research contributes to corporate governance literature by critically engaging with the "common ground" hypothesis, which posits that homogeneous boards are more efficient. Our findings suggest that in dual-purpose corporations, a fragmented but complementary distribution of competencies across separate governance entities lay ground for new strategic decision-making process and ensures a balance between financial performance and societal goals.The study's implications are both theoretical and practical. Theoretically, it refines existing frameworks on governance configurations in dual-purpose organizations, emphasizing the importance of external expertise in mission-driven oversight. Practically, it provides actionable insights for boards seeking to navigate the inherent tensions between profitability and purpose.Future research might need to explore the evolution of dual-board structures over time and examine specific cases of tension management, particularly in contexts where financial and societal priorities diverge. Additionally, understanding how mission committee expertise directly impacts organizational outcomes will further enhance the governance of dual-purpose corporations.