Corporate Governance Organization Life Cycle

Over the past 30 years, much has been written about the direct relationship between board composition and firm performance. However, the final results of the quest for empirical proof to measure the impact of this relationship are inconclusive. This is partly due to differences in operationalizing board composition and also partly due to the fact that various definitions of the term performance are used, including financial performance, firm performance, and market performance. More fundamentally, however, it is because a firm's performance, no matter how narrowly this word is defined, is the end result of a large number of factors, of which board composition is only one. More meaningful, therefore, is the study of the various ways to improve board performance. Effective boards are those in which the strengths and expertise of the members match the needs of the organization at any given time. Therefore, in today's fast-changing environment, the present research suggests a need for a proactive management of the board composition in anticipation of major external/internal organizational changes as well as during the various phases of a firm's life cycle. The theoretical review of the extant research on board role and composition that is covered in this book is comprehensive not only in terms of the use of major theories relevant to corporate governance but also in terms of the analysis of business scenarios that could affect the role and composition of the board throughout an organization's life cycle. This research, which was undertaken over many years, delivers valuable insights on directors' motivations to join a board and on the meaning of two key directors' selection criteria (i.e., required board experience and independence). When the pool of candidates is limited, more competence and more independence become contradictory objectives, and this dilemma has not been adequately addressed by policy makers. The board of directors represents a core component of the corporate governance system in the western economies. Anyone interested in corporate governance and research in this field would benefit from the theoretical framework developed in this book. Qualitative researchers would also be interested in the methodology used during the fieldwork. Senior executives and board members represent a notoriously challenging population to observe and interview.

This unique collection of new, previously unpublished chapters examines corporate governance and the various life cycle stages of firms and organizations. The role of the corporate governance life cycle in different industrial and institutional contexts is identified and reviewed, and crucial governance issues relating to the transition between stages are considered. This book will extend our understanding of governance issues beyond the narrow confines of economics and finance perspectives to embrace both learning and knowledge dimensions as well as contextual issues.

In this unique collection of published articles by leading scholars in the field, Professor Filatotchev examines critical governance issues relating to different stages of the business life cycle. He identifies and reviews the role of factors such as ownership structure, shareholder activism and corporate boards in different firm-level and industrial contexts. This volume extends our understanding of governance issues beyond the narrow confines of economics and finance perspectives and provides a better account for the interdependencies of corporate governance practices within diverse technical, managerial, and institutional environments.The editor has written an authoritative introduction which provides explanatory information and points the way for future research in this area.

Corporate governance remains a central area of concern to business and society, and this Handbook constitutes the definitive source of academic research on this topic, synthesizing international studies from economics, strategy, international business, organizational behavior, entrepreneurship, business ethics, accounting, finance, and law.

For many Americans, capitalism is a dynamic engine of prosperity that rewards the bold, the daring, and the hardworking. But to many outside the United States, capitalism seems like an initiative that serves only to concentrate power and wealth in the hands of a few hereditary oligarchies. As A History of Corporate Governance around the World shows, neither conception is wrong. In this volume, some of the brightest minds in the field of economics present new empirical research that suggests that each side of the debate has something to offer the other. Free enterprise and well-developed financial systems are proven to produce growth in those countries that have them. But research also suggests that in some other capitalist countries, arrangements truly do concentrate corporate ownership in the hands of a few wealthy families. A History of Corporate Governance around the World provides historical studies of the patterns of corporate governance in several countries-including the large industrial economies of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States; larger developing economies like China and India; and alternative models like those of the Netherlands and Sweden.

In this reputable book Professor Morroni has constructed an insightful framework of three decisive factors for organizational coordination: capabilities, transaction, scale-scope. Based on these, he has knitted a splendid tapestry of theoretical and empirical information. This collection must be a standard for the theory of the firm. Yuji Aruka, Chuo University, Japan Organisations, networks and firms are three of the most dynamic areas of economic research. This timely book synthesises these areas in order to analyse emergent phenomena such as spatial clustering, outsourcing, relational complexity and radical technological innovation. A combination of authoritative literature reviews, novel theoretical developments and interesting case study applications makes this book essential reading for both new and established scholars in the field. Mark Casson, University of Reading, UK In recent years, applied studies have shown widespread, profound and increasing heterogeneity across firms in terms of their strategy, organization arrangement and performance. This book investigates the diversity of business firms, offering a picture of the different organizational settings they adopt in their endeavour to cope with increasing competitive pressure. The book addresses critical theoretical issues surrounding corporate governance, organizational design and cooperative relations among firms. Moreover, it provides new evidence on the various forms of outsourcing that are playing an increasingly important role as a consequence of globalization. The contributions collected in this book stress the emergence of a trend towards a reorganization of production that can enhance the transmission, development and maintenance of knowledge in order to sustain long-run competitive advantage. Providing original and pertinent empirical evidence, this book will attract interest from scholars and postgraduate students studying the economics and organization of the firm. It will also be of value to managers who wish to understand new developments in the organizational settings of business firms with particular reference to corporate governance, organizational design, cooperative relations, outsourcing and de-localization.