bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Enlarged EU: enlarged corporate governance? Why directives might be more appropriate for transition economies
Authors: Braendle Udo C. , Noll Juergen 
Published: January 2010

PurposeThis paper seeks to illustrate the development of corporate governance issues in the transition economies of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) and to analyze if codes based on directives or standards are better for these economies.Design/methodology/approachA chapter about corporate governance codes and the respective (dis)advantages of directives and standards starts the paper. Then common European and specific transition economies' corporate governance problems followed by a discussion of directives versus standards for CEE countries are described.FindingsThe paper finds that historical development of the transition economies in CEE leads to specific corporate governance problems such as high court delays, corruption and immature institutional investors. The introduction of corporate governance codes for these economies seems useful but should not rely on broad standards but on legally enforced binding rules accounting for the discussion of directives versus standards.Research limitations/implicationsResearch on the weaknesses of legal systems in transition economies is mainly verbally argued and needs more empirical backing. The discussion of directives versus standards is limited as we live in a world of flux – standards are becoming directives over time.Practical implicationsThe paper argues against the blindfold implementation of corporate governance codes of other countries and argues for country specific solutions keeping in minds the different effects of directives and standards.Originality/valueThe paper opposes the mainstream thinking that corporate governance codes are the ultimate ratio for transition economies in countries of CEE.
Responsible competitiveness: reshaping global markets through responsible business practices
Authors: Zadek Simon 
Published: January 2010

PurposeThe purpose of the paper is to explore the theoretical underpinnings and practical implications of responsible competitiveness, where responsible business practices become a driver of national and regional competitiveness.Design/methodology/approachThe paper is based on extensive international consultations in association with the United Nations, detailed case studies, and econometric analysis of country level competitiveness and corporate responsibility related data.FindingsThe paper concluded that responsible business practices can contribute to national and regional competitiveness, and that without such links corporate responsibility impacts are likely to remain limited.Research limitations/implicationsFurther sector and issue‐based and country‐level research is needed exploring the potential and practice of responsible competitiveness.Practical implicationsProposes that national and regional strategies for enhancing competitiveness and so also social/environmental outcomes can be grounded in responsible competitiveness. Furthermore, offers insights into how global markets can internalise key costs and benefits.Originality/valueThe paper authors the notion of responsible competitiveness, and provides original definitions, methodology and data previously unpublished in any academic journal.
The Lisbon Strategy after the mid‐term review: implications for innovation and life‐long learning
Authors: João Rodrigues Maria 
Published: January 2010

PurposeThis paper aims to investigate the interaction between the sustainability of the European social model and the European Union's revised Lisbon Strategy and its focus on jobs and growth. The success of this strategy – following its five‐year mid‐term review in 2005 – depends on attempts to renew European competitiveness through, for example, innovation and life‐long learning and well‐designed reforms of the European social model.Design/methodology/approachThe paper reviews the evolution of the Lisbon Strategy and sets out the broader context for European policy on competitiveness. It provides the backdrop for discussions linking competitiveness to corporate responsibility.FindingsThe sustainability of the European social model depends on the success of the overall strategy for growth and jobs, in which innovation and life‐long learning are key. The concrete solutions to achieve a successful combination of those factors in each member state need to be found by countries themselves. That is why the preparation and implementation of Europe‐wide National Reform Programmes for growth and jobs opens an opportunity to drive competitiveness which should not be missed.Practical implicationsThe paper addresses issues relevant for sustainable development, Europe's innovation potential and competitiveness and could open new areas for research. There is a need for a more forward‐looking approach to European citizens' aspirations that focuses on: sustaining their living conditions in a global economy; making Europe a stronger player in improving global governance; and creating a more democratic and effective political system.Originality/valueThe paper provides a new approach to renewing European competitiveness by fully exploiting the potential of Europe's own single and external market, as well sound macro‐economic management of its growth potential.
Learning together: new partnerships for new times
Authors: Senge Peter M. , Dow Michelle , Neath Gavin 
Published: January 2010

PurposeThe purpose of this research is to provide an overview of the learning that has emerged from two initiatives in which a multinational company, Unilever, and an international non‐governmental organization, Oxfam have worked together: the Sustainable Food Laboratory Initiative, a project focusing on the global food production system, and “Exploring the Links”, a joint research project exploring the links between wealth creation and poverty reduction in one country, Indonesia.Design/methodology/approachThe paper presents an overview of learning as expressed by participants in the Sustainable Food Laboratory and a summary of the final report published by the joint research project, giving an overview of the process and highlighting the key lessons learned by both organizations.FindingsThe paper finds that the common success of both projects is a contribution to a better understanding of current global systems and local impacts, as well as an indication of the opportunities for systemic change that emerge when different organizations are willing to learn with and from each other. Oxfam and Unilever participants came to realize that, despite their very different missions and goals, they share a commitment to poverty reduction, healthy resource systems, and truly sustainable development. Although common ground may be found, such projects do not attempt to cover over differences. On the contrary, understanding differences can lead to more balanced and integrative pictures of complex problems, reveal limitations of what individual organizations can do, and identify areas where partnerships can have the greatest benefits for real and lasting change.Research limitations/implicationsThe paper draws on personal learning from a limited number of participants in the three year pilot of the Sustainable Food Laboratory and solely on the research and findings published in the Indonesia project's final report.Practical implicationsThis paper highlights the valuable learning that can emerge when different kinds of organization work together to explore and address common challenges. Understanding their differences in outlook and experience can lead to more balanced and integrative pictures of complex problems, reveal limitations of what individual organizations can do, and identify areas where partnerships can have the greatest benefits for real and lasting change.Originality/valueThis paper gives real examples of the kind of learning that can emerge from cross‐sector initiatives, and highlights lessons about how such learning can be achieved and why it is valuable.
The impact of higher education on students' and young managers' perception of companies and CSR: an exploratory analysis
Authors: Sobczak André , Debucquet Gervaise , Havard Christelle 
Published: January 2010

PurposeThe purpose of this article is to analyse the impact of higher education on students' and young managers' perception of companies and corporate social responsibility (CSR).Design/methodology/approachThe research is based on an electronic questionnaire for students and alumni of different institutions of higher education in Nantes (France). The textual analysis software ALCESTE enabled interpretion of the answers to the open‐ended questions. Concerning the closed questions, analyses by simple sort and the cross sort subject to chi2‐tests were used.FindingsThe main result of this exploratory study is the impact of the different types of academic institutions on the respondents' perception of companies and their attitude towards CSR concepts and tools.Research limitations/implicationsThe questionnaire should be submitted to a group of older managers and engineers in order to check whether and to what extent the impact of the academic institution is confirmed after several years of experience as managers. Furthermore, this exploratory research should be complemented by a qualitative approach to explain the link between the corporate vision and educational background.Practical implicationsHigher educational institutions have to integrate CSR in their culture, as this culture seems to have an impact on the perception of companies and CSR that is as important as the content of the education.Originality/valueThis research has been designed by a French business school and the white collar trade union CFDT‐Cadres.
The social‐competitive innovation pyramid
Authors: Molteni Mario 
Published: January 2010

PurposeThe purpose of this article is to define a logical process through which social needs can be investigated and integrated into corporate strategy, thus allowing management to meet the expectations of its stakeholder.Design/methodology/approachThe process has been defined on the basis of a review of international literature that helped to identify the main problems related to the recognition of social expectations by the company and the implications of these expectations on the overall competitive strategy.FindingsThe research has lead to the construction of a framework to address social needs: the social‐competitive innovation pyramid. It is shaped in order to help companies to understand their degrees of efficiency in responding to their partners' expectations. The pyramid identifies five efficiency levels. The highest one, named “social competitive synthesis”, shows the best response to stakeholders' needs; the lowest level, “temporary sacrifice of social expectations”, is the one where social expectations are sacrificed in the view of the companies strategy.Originality/valueThe paper presents corporate responsibility as an integral part of corporate strategy, so much so that it helps corporate management to find innovative solutions to fulfil stakeholder expectations. Therefore, corporate responsibility becomes a creative factor in developing competitiveness.
Board process attributes and company performance of family‐owned businesses in Turkey
Authors: Kula Veysel , Tatoglu Ekrem 
Published: January 2010

PurposeThis paper aims to investigate the relationship between board process attributes and company performance of family‐owned companies within an emerging country context.Design/methodology/approachA survey questionnaire was developed and conducted on a sample of privately‐held Turkish companies where a total of 386 usable questionnaires were returned. From the original data set a sub‐sample of 266 firms with majority family ownership was created. Based on the extant literature, a set of 18 directors' collective attributes and 15 directors' individual attributes were identified as potentially relevant for company performance. Relying on the perceptions of the respondents, multiple subjective measures of company performance were adopted.FindingsCompany performance is found to be positively related to the directors' collective and individual attributes which are associated with access to information, effectiveness of board, observance of fiduciary responsibility and performance evaluation.Practical implicationsThe essential implication of the study for establishing a desirable board climate is the necessity of having a keen focus on information. Sticking to fiduciary responsibility and application of performance evaluations are also indispensable attributes of high performance companies. These attitudes all combined seem to culminate in effective board process.Originality/valueWhile the subject of corporate governance is gaining an increasing attention from both academic and business circles, there is a dearth of research on board process attributes and their impact on company performance. This paper, therefore, aims to fill this lacuna by examining the relationship between board process attributes and company performance within a big emerging country context.
Corporate internal investigations: balancing firm social reputation with board fiduciary responsibility
Authors: Hemphill Thomas A. 
Published: January 2010

PurposeThe subject of corporate internal investigations engenders a special challenge for the final arbiters of a company's strategy, the boards of directors. The taint to corporate reputation associated with allegations of improper business practices has widespread, and possibly long‐term, financial and legal implications for various key stakeholders of the corporation. The purpose of this paper is to develop a methodological approach to balancing firm social reputation with the fiduciary responsibilities inherent to directors in publicly‐traded companies.Design/methodology/approachFor boards to effectively address the issues raised by threats to corporate reputation and cooperation with US government agencies in their criminal and civil investigations, a two‐stage approach of interactive/reactive engagement (based on a typology developed in 1975) provides the theoretical foundation to formulate a firm nonmarket strategy for addressing corporate internal investigations.FindingsRecognizing the new socio‐economic reality faced by the modern firm (i.e. corporate citizenship and stakeholder engagement) requires that executives and directors balance the strategic importance of maintaining the firm's social reputation for the long term with the short‐term economic consequences of criminal and civil litigation over improper business practices.Originality/valueThe value of this interactive/reactive engagement approach is that it requires explicit managerial/board recognition of the benefits ”accruing to the corporation and its stakeholders (i.e. leniency in sentencing and fines, enhanced corporate social reputation,), while factoring in carefully measured costs” (e.g. the negotiated waiver of attorney‐client privilege and work‐product protection) that must be absorbed by the firm and its shareholders.
Financial distress and corporate governance in Zimbabwean banks
Authors: Muranda Zororo 
Published: January 2010

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between corporate governance failures and financial distress in Zimbabwe's banking sector.Design/methodology/approachThe study uses the case study method. It discusses cases of banks currently in financial distress. Data collection was through desk research. The analysis is qualitative. Judgemental sampling was used in selecting the eight abridged cases.FindingsIn all cases of pronounced financial distress, either the chairman of the board or the chief executive wields disproportionate power in the board. The disproportionate power emanates from major shareholding. The overbearing executive overshadows other directors, executive and non‐executive, thus creating power imbalance in the board. The study shows that financial institutions in Zimbabwe (as cited in abridged cases) underestimated the competitive forces that resulted from first, economic deregulation and later economic decline coupled with political meltdown. In order to survive, banking institutions significantly shifted from their core business. In all cases the institutions ended up engaging in financial and accounting imprudence. The study also shows that an active role by regulatory authorities directly contributes to observance of good corporate governance practices.Originality/valueThe value of the paper is in its contribution of knowledge in an area that is least researched in Zimbabwe. The paper should be quite useful to academics in terms of understanding developing country corporate governance issues. The paper is also valuable to business executives especially those operating in economies under stress.
The contribution of the practice of confession and the Protestant Reformation to the modern practice of accountability
Authors: Velayutham Sivakumar 
Published: January 2010

PurposeThis paper seeks to highlight the contribution of the Catholic practice of confession and the Protestant Reformation to the development of the modern concept of accountability.Design/methodology/approachA historical analysis of the literature is carried out to identify the contribution of key features of the practice of confession and the reformation of the Church to the development of accountability in Protestant societies.FindingsThe study highlights that the practice of confession is similar to accountability and the Catholic Church developed the emotion of guilt necessary for accountability. The Protestant Reformation provided for the further development of accountability to its modern form, through the restructuring of the practice of confession and the extension of the principles of accountability to itself. The conditions necessary for the practice of accountability such as popular power of the people, the concept of contracts and the emotion of guilt developed within the above environment.Originality/valueThis paper highlights the historical development of accountability to provide some insights into understanding of the environment and conditions necessary for the spread of accountability, which is becoming increasingly important in the current economic environment characterized by global integration of markets.
Governance, compliance and legal enforcement: evaluating a recent Irish initiative
Authors: Heneghan John , O'Donnell David 
Published: January 2010

PurposeThe objective of this paper is to present an initial evaluation of recent Irish legislation in the area of corporate governance.Design/methodology/approachThe background to the introduction of the 2001 Company Law Enforcement Act, establishing the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement (ODCE), and the Companies (Auditing & Accounting) Act of 2003, establishing the Irish Auditing and Accounting Supervisory Authority (IAASA), is first outlined. Some empirical evidence is then presented on how such initiatives are perceived by Irish accountants, auditors and directors.FindingsThe tentative conclusion reached is that these regulatory and legislative changes, particularly the active stance of the ODCE, are contributing positively towards creating a compliance culture among Irish directors and their professional accounting advisers. The most striking aspect of the IAASA is its mere existence at a regulatory level over the main professional bodies for the first time in the history of the Irish state.Research limitations/implicationsLaw mediates the relationship between the steering media of economics and politics – and the lifeworlds of accountants, auditors and company directors. This relationship is contextually complex and further research on this institutionalisation process may lead to further insights emerging.Practical implicationsLegislation, if supported with the requisite resources and institutions, can positively impact on business culture through influencing the behaviour of key actors.Originality/valueThis paper is one of the first evaluations of recent Irish responses to enhancing the integrity of its business culture.
Does ownership affect a firm's performance and default risk in Jordan?
Authors: Zeitun Rami , Gang Tian Gary 
Published: January 2010

PurposeThis paper seeks to examine the impact of ownership structure on firm performance and the default risk of a sample of publicly listed firms.Design/methodology/approachThis paper examines the impact of ownership structure on firm performance and the default risk of a sample of 59 publicly listed firms in Jordan from 1989 to 2002.FindingsThe main findings were: ownership structure has significant effects on the accounting measure of performance return on assets (ROE); government shares are significantly negatively related to the firm's performance ROE; defaulted firms have a high concentration ownership compared with non‐defaulted firms and also high foreign ownership firms have a low incidence of default; government ownership is significantly negatively related to the firm's probability of default; both mix and concentration ownership structure data can be used to predict the probability of default as the largest five shareholders (C5) and government ownership fraction (FGO) are significantly negatively correlated with the probability of the default. These results further suggest that reducing government ownership can increase a firm's performance but will also cause some firms to go bankrupt, at least in the short term.Originality/valueThis paper provides useful information on the impact of ownership structure on firm performance and the default risk of a sample of publicly‐listed firms.
Corporate governance and financing decisions of Ghanaian listed firms
Authors: Abor Joshua 
Published: January 2010

PurposeThis paper seeks to examine the relationship between corporate governance and the capital structure decisions of listed firms in Ghana.Design/methodology/approachMultiple regression analysis is used in the study in estimating the relationship between the corporate governance characteristics and capital structure.FindingsThe empirical results show statistically significant and positive associations between capital structure and board size, board composition, and CEO duality. The results generally indicate that Ghanaian listed firms pursue high debt policy with larger board size, higher percentage of non‐executive directors, and CEO duality. The results also show a negative (though statistically insignificant) relationship between the tenure of the CEO and capital structure, suggesting that, entrenched CEOs employ lower debt in order to reduce the performance pressures associated with high debt capital.Originality/valueThe main value of this paper is the analysis of the effect of corporate governance on financing decisions from the Ghanaian perspective.
Corporate governance and the small and medium enterprises sector: theory and implications
Authors: Abor Joshua , Adjasi Charles K.D. 
Published: January 2010

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to identify the extent to which the corporate governance framework can be applied to small and medium enterprises (SMEs), and discuss these issues further within the Ghanaian context.Design/methodology/approachAfter considering some of the key issues, the paper shows how relevant these issues are to the SME sector.FindingsIt is clear that corporate governance brings new strategic outlook through external independent directors and enhances firms' corporate entrepreneurship and competitiveness. Again the problems of credit constraint and managerial incompetence in the Ghanaian SME sector could also be overcome with a good corporate governance structure in place.Research limitations/implicationsThe discussion mainly focuses on corporate governance within the context of Ghanaian SMEs.Originality/valueThis paper provides conceptual insights on the application of corporate governance among SMEs.