Blue blood keeps running deep:
An exploration of nobility representation on corporate boards
Diliara Valeeva & Kobe De Keere
University of Amsterdam
Like the history of aristocracy,
this paper has a long history
Forbes, 23 March 2021
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- The endurace of aristocracy remains a modern paradox (Kuiper, 2015)
- Social privilege through inheritance contrasts with the meritocratic idea that social status should be based on merit (Mijs, 2016; Sandel, 2020)
- But meritocracy is mainly an ideology that masks the true mechanisms of inequality reproduction (Mijs, 2021)
- Non-merit characteristics continue to play a significant role in securing high-status jobs and elite positions (Rivera, 2016; Gugushvili et al., 2017; Shavit and Blossfeld, 1993; Jackson, 2006, 2007)
- Social structures are the result of durable mechanisms of social reproduction (Tilly, 1998)
Reproduction of inequalities
Endurance of aristocracy
A small yet resilient group that consistently employs the same set of strategies to preserve its privilege (Mayer, 1981)
Social and symbolic capital are the main drivers behind the persistence of nobility's social advantages (Saint Martin, 2015)
Aristocracy remains resilient due to persistent:
1. Control over political and civil structures
2. Influence in cultural production (Mayer, 1981).
Capital reconversion
To understand how the aristocracy silently slide into a new era, we need to unpack the social mechanism of reproduction of privilege
We use Bourdieu's 'capital reconversion' (1996/1984) to explain the nobility's persistence in the corporate field
Capital reconversion strategies refer to how groups maintain their social position by transforming a type of capital they already possess into one that offers new social benefits
Example: turning symbolic capital (a noble title) to enter economic field, through relying on social or cultural capital
What does characterize
the positionality of nobility
within the field of international corporate elites?
Corporate boards as a possible site of sucessful capital reconversion for aristocrats
Orbis Bureau van Dijk dataset
Individuals who obtain corporate board positions in 2017
Data and Methods
Common honorifics:
Mr, Ms, Signore, Sri
Professional honorifics:
Professor, reverend, offcier
Academic degrees:
MBA, PhD, master
Noble titles:
marquis, baroness, sheikh, tengku
Titles in the dataset
35,750,371 of board members are non-titled; 5,724 hold noble titles (0.02%)
4 regional nobility groups: European, Asian, MENA, and Other
Industry types: data-provided and our classificaiton
Descriptive analysis and qualitative interpretations of pathways to power
Data and Methods
Findings
Pathways to corporate power
European group
The Faber-Castells, the manufacturing dynasty
The Rotschilds, the banking dynasty
Older and more female
Involvement in charities and philanthropic organizations, art and cultural institutions
Corporate dynasties in finance and industry
PATHWAY:
SYMBOLIC CAPITAL (titles) => CULTURAL PATH = art, research, education => typically European/Mainly British => Economic capital
Al Nahyan royal family members, one of the ruling families
of the UAE, on board of the First Abu Dhabi Bank
Middle Eastern group
Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the UAE
Mostly male and royal
Finance, investment funds, banks
Control the largest companies
Statist nature, political power
PATHWAY:
SYMBOLIC CAPITAL (titles) => CIVIL/FINANCIAL PATH = state, politics => eventually finance, state corporations => typically MENA => Economic capital
Asian group
Malaysia, Pakistan, the Philippines
The youngest group
Political affiliations
Control over industrial companies
Tengku Putra, member of a Malaysian royal family
PATHWAY:
SYMBOLIC CAPITAL (titles) => CIVIL/INDUSTRIAL PATH = state, politics => industrial corporations => Typically Asian (??) => Economic capital
Three pathways
1. SYMBOLIC CAPITAL (titles) => CULTURAL PATH = art, research, education => typically European/Mainly British => Economic capital
2. SYMBOLIC CAPITAL (titles) => CIVIL/FINANCIAL PATH = state, politics => eventually finance, state corporations => typically MENA => Economic capital
3. SYMBOLIC CAPITAL (titles) => CIVIL/INDUSTRIAL PATH = state, politics => industrial corporations => Typically Asian (??) => Economic capital
Concluding remarks
The coexistence of meritocratic ideals and hereditary aristocratic privilege is a societal paradox
Aristocracy uses regionally specific capital reconversion pathways
More research is needed on the prevalence, resources, and social strategies of aristocracies, with a focus on comparative studies.