Dr Patrick Ring analyses risk management in the boardroom

A paper co-authored by Dr Patrick Ring, examining strategic risk decision-making in the boardroom, has been published in one of the top risk management journals in the world.

Reconciling risk as threat and opportunity: The social construction of risk in boardrooms uses the testimony of more than 30 executive and non-executive directors from private, public and third-sector organisations.

The research, funded by the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), explores how risk is understood in the boardroom and looks at how strategic risk decision-making can be influenced by boardroom culture.

Dr Ring, Reader in Financial Services at Glasgow Caledonian, said: "Our intention was not to draw comparisons between sectors but to understand the practice of strategic risk analysis and decision-making across boardrooms.

"We hope that helping and encouraging boards to understand the ‘risk logic’ they apply in making decisions  may enhance their collective judgment as they navigate the increasing risks and uncertainties facing organisations today."

The paper has been published in Risk Analysis, a 4-rated journal in the Chartered Association of Business Schools’ Academic Journal Guide, and ranked among the top 10 journals in the ISI Journal Citation Reports, under the social sciences, mathematical methods category.

The directors interviewed came from a wide range of sectors, including financial, legal, property investment, pensions, IT, engineering, housing and public services.

Read - Reconciling risk as threat and opportunity: The social construction of risk in boardrooms, by Dr Patrick Ring, Cormac Bryce and Simon Ashby, online for free