Board’s Digital Oversight and Expertise – Initial Findings From a Legal-Comparative and Empirical Perspective

The growing significance of digital technologies for companies is evident. While technological advancements offer substantial benefits to companies, they also introduce new risks that corporate boards may not be adequately prepared for. This chapter examines whether corporate boards can effectively integrate digital technology matters into their monitoring function. To explore this, the board's duty of oversight concerning digital matters is discussed first, primarily focusing on board duties in the Netherlands and the United States (Delaware). Subsequently, we analyze the oversight role and expertise of directors in the Netherlands in practice by performing an exploratory assessment of their biographies using natural language processing techniques. The analysis reveals that a majority of Dutch (supervisory) boards possess a certain level of digital savviness. Further research is needed to determine the optimal allocation of the board's oversight function regarding cybersecurity and other digital matters.