The Nordic Corporate Governance Model

The Nordic Region is remarkable in many ways and has been the subject of increasing interest over the past years. The five countries of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden are culturally closely aligned and combine a well-functioning business sector and high GDP with an expansive welfare state and high taxes. What has been well less known outside the Nordic Region is the shared corporate governance model used by companies and for the first time a comprehensive study is available in English to explain this model.The main part of the study is the condensed presentation of the Nordic CG model. It is based on four country reports covering the three EU Member States (DK, F, S) and one EEA Member State (N). Each country report has been drawn up by a team consisting of a legal expert and a corporate governance expert with practical experience. To ensure that the report reflects actual practices, each team was assisted by a reference group consisting of business practitioners with extensive experience from large-cap listed companies and connections to the national CG code committees. To provide an international aspect, the renowned American scholar Ronald J Gilson contributed a comment on the report's findings in a separate chapter.The key observation of the study is that the Nordic CG model allows the shareholder majority to effectively control and take long-term responsibility for the company that they own. The alleged risk of such a system - the potential that a shareholder majority misuses its power for its own benefit at the expense of minority shareholders - is effectively curbed through a well-developed system of minority protection. The result is a governance model that encourages strong shareholders to engage in the governance of the company in their own interest, while creating value for the company and all its shareholders.

Corporate Governance in a Nordic Setting focuses on the historical, cultural and political development of the Swedish corporate governance code and model. It explores the definition and interpretations of corporate governance, including the Cadbury Report and OECD definitions, and specifically discusses powerful institutions that shaped its tradition over time. It further outlines the distinguishing features of the Nordic and Swedish corporate governance models, including taxation, ownership structures, corporate culture, and leadership styles. Emphasis is placed on the role of corporate governance in achieving a sustainable society, arguing for the importance of integrating financial, social and environmental perspectives at the corporate governance level. The chapters discuss a broad spectrum of topics including corporate ownership structures, agency conflicts, board diversity, employee representation on corporate boards, sustainability governance, and corporate governance in times of crisis, providing insights into Nordic and Swedish corporate governance and highlighting their unique characteristics and implications for businesses and society.

The activities carried out in a business organization stem from the contribution of subjects who cooperate in the expectation of obtaining adequate rewards. The ability of organisations to reach a specific level of performance is influenced by the ownership structure, while the management is directed and controlled through a set of rules and incentives. This set regulates the distribution of rights and responsibilities among the board, company management and stakeholders, and it defines the corporate governance model adopted by the organization. The collapse of global organisations across the world have undoubtedly revealed the inherent flaws in the contemporary corporate governance practices. As a result of these international scandals, a great deal of multidisciplinary research has been growing restlessly to define the specificities of each corporate governance model, however, lacking a specific investigation into the presumed existence of the most suitable one. By favouring the synthesis and the inductive procedure, this book analyses the potential existence of the most appropriate corporate governance model based on comparative international analysis of cultural, social and economic factors influencing the organization’s choice regarding the corporate governance model to be adopted. This volume will be of interest to researchers, academics, professionals and students in the fields of corporate governance, international business and law.

Corporate Governance In A Globalising World: Convergence Or Divergence? presents a broad and multi-disciplinary debate on corporate governance systems by integrating academic viewpoints, statistical evidence, as well as field surveys. Based on a large number of publications and studies, the opinions of researchers are grouped into three categories: those that believe in a convergence into the direction of the market-oriented model (with the Anglo-American model as the reference base), those that opt for another type of convergence, namely in the direction of a hybrid corporate governance model (based on cross-reference between different leading governance models), and those that do not believe in global convergence but adhere to diversity of governance models.

Transforming Governance: New Values, New Systems in the New Business Environment, edited by Maria Aluchna and Güler Aras addresses the current state, as well as the development of corporate governance and its perceived tasks and functions, in response to the changing market and regulatory environment. Divided into three parts, the book firstly addresses the variety of theoretical approaches. The inefficiencies, scandals and crises as well as the significant shortcomings and current criticism of shareholder value provide a new setting and theoretical assumptions for the purpose and role of corporate governance in the economy and society. The second section of the book goes on to discuss the forces which lead to the changing corporate governance paradigm, as companies are expected to incorporate not only shareholders but also stakeholders expectations and report and improve upon social and environmental performance. The focus of this section is to present the impact of stakeholders, the requirement for corporate social responsibility and sustainability, as well as the increasing importance of women in management and their participation at corporate board level. Section Three contains corporate governance case studies within various organizational and institutional settings; including the case of family companies, social enterprises/benefit corporations, sustainable companies and emerging markets. The book's contributors comprise both researchers and business experts addressing both theoretical and practical dimensions.