Corporate governance reform in Nigeria: upstream and downstream interventions

Purpose Internal (e.g. firm performance, internal stakeholders) and external pressures (e.g. globalisation, technology, corporate scandals) have intensified calls for corporate governance reforms across varieties of capitalism. Yet, corporate governance practices among developing economies remain problematic. Drawing insights from Africa’s largest economy (Nigeria) and relying on the resource dependence theorisation, this study aims to address two questions – what are the prerequisites for effective reforms; and what reforms yield robust corporate governance? Design/methodology/approach This study adopts a qualitative methodology comprising semi-structured interviews with 21 executives in publicly listed Nigerian firms. The interviews were analysed using the content analysis technique. Findings This study proposes two sequential reforms (i.e. the upstream and downstream). The upstream factors highlight the preconditions that support corporate governance reforms, i.e. government commitment and enabling environment, while the downstream reforms combine elements of awareness and regulation to proffer robust corporate governance interventions. Originality/value This research further stresses the need to consider a bottom-up approach to corporate governance in place of the dominant top-down strategy. This strategy allows agents to participate actively in corporate governance policy-making rather than a top-down model, which imposes corporate governance on agents.

Increasing shareholder focus: the repercussions of the 2015 corporate governance reform in Japan

The corporate governance reform promulgated in 2015 in Japan has contributed to a substantial increase of board independence and a reduction of average board tenure. Our empirical analysis covering 3405 public companies demonstrates that reinvigorated corporate oversight and an increasing post-reform shift towards prioritization of shareholder value have led to a persistent increase of corporate profitability, asset productivity, dividend payouts, acquisitions’ value, and valuation multiples. We also document a significant increase of sensitivity of executives’ and directors’ compensations to the dynamics of firms’ bottom lines. The positive changes are the most pronounced within companies where independent directors constitute a majority on the board. The most notable drawbacks of the reform are a significant reduction in net employment creation and in employee turnover within the largest companies. These might be a possible reason for the documented improvement in corporate performance. The number of part-time employees has also seen a significant increase. While being prima facie focused on reinvigorating the private sector, the corporate governance reform may implicitly undermine the established social contract based on job security. Therefore, our study is important from the perspective of sustainable development of the corporate sector as it demonstrates that while concentrating on improving corporate governance, it is also necessary to consider the business’ social responsibility.

Structural Power in Sustainability Transitions: Case Studies of Energy Storage Integration Into Regional Transmission Organization Decision Processes

Highly technical rules for regional electricity markets shape opportunities for new technologies and the pace of transition to a cleaner and more distributed power system. We compare three case studies of regional transmission organizations and identify common mechanisms that describe the relationship between institutional design and administrative policy decisions. We compare industry actors, old and new, across these case studies to better understand structural power and institutional stability through four mechanisms drawn from the literature: (1) self-reinforcing interests, (2) participation in and position of groups, (3) influence over communication and information, and (4) control over problem framing and pace of decisions. A focus on the mechanisms that operate within RTO governance provides insight into needed RTO governance reform.

Democracy, citizenship, and corporate governance reform: How to deal with the internationalization of corporate activity

Commercial companies are increasingly being recognized as agents of societal governance operating alongside the public authorities in their traditional role as governance bodies. In addition, companies are claiming to be ‘corporate citizens’ in the way they deal with their environmental, employment and social/ethical responsibilities. Given the fact that large corporations are now heavily internationalized in their operational characteristics – with branches, subsidiaries, affiliates and extended supply chains operating in multiple jurisdictions – can such organizations be brought into a democratic register? Citizenship and democracy are conventionally associated with a territorial state, national sovereignty and jurisdictional independence. So, how can internationalized companies be subject to democratic forms of governance? An added problem arises with platform companies and blockchain organized digital currency providers whose operations transcend national borders from the start. This contribution discusses the issues of and provides a way for considering corporate democracy afresh in these rapidly evolving contexts.

Governance and sustainability in Southeast Asia

Purpose This paper aims to examine the relationship between a diverse set of corporate governance (CG) mechanisms and corporate sustainability disclosure (CSD) in Southeast Asian countries under national stakeholder reform. Design/methodology/approach Data analysis is based on 171 of the largest companies across six Southeast Asian countries using a 30-item CSD measure. Findings The authors find that there are wide variations in the levels of CSD across the countries. The findings indicate that board size, board gender diversity, block ownership and the presence of a sustainability committee are significant determinants of CSD. Additionally, whilst more stringent stakeholder governance reform motivates firms to publish more sustainability information, it fails to influence the effectiveness of the board of directors in promoting CSD. Practical implications Findings of this study highlight the essential role internal governance structure plays in monitoring corporate actions and enabling corporations to reduce their legitimacy gap. The findings further encourage regulators and policymakers to question, with utmost importance, the effectiveness of stakeholder reform in making significant organisational changes. Originality/value There is a dearth of studies that examine the CG-CSD nexus in relation to specific institutional characteristics. Existing studies mainly focus on a single country with similar institutional environments and thus limiting the ability to understand the “context specificity” of sustainability content development. This paper provides an overview of stakeholder reform in Southeast Asian countries and empirically substantiates the relationship between CG and CSD across six countries undergoing such reforms in the region.

Position of the Board of Directors in Higher Education Institutions in Mongolia - Focusing on Analysis of Founder’s Representatives

In 1995, during the process of democratization, Mongolia established a Law on Education and a Law on Higher Education. These laws positioned the board of directors as the ultimate decision-making body within each university and stipulated that the board’s membership include the representatives of the university’s founder, faculty members, students, parents, and alumni, enabling a wide range of people to participate in university governance. At the same time, it was stipulated that the representatives nominated by the founder would account for 51-60% of the board’s membership, giving them a majority that runs counter to the principle of introducing greater diversity into the board. This article examines the positioning of the board of directors in Mongolian higher education institutions through reviews of documents and the websites of existing higher education institutions. In particular, this article clarifies the position of the board of directors as the mainstay of governance systems in both national and private universities in Mongolia. These findings are expected not only to further understanding of Mongolian higher education but also to furnish new insights into the board of directors as an organ for both internal control and external connection. This study offers implications for future research in the field of comparative education on higher education’s governance reform in line with globalization and marketization.