Corporate Governance and Ethics

Chapter 14

Corporate Governance in Transition

INTRODUCTION

HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE OF CORPORATE GOVERNANCE

CORPORATE GOVERNANCE: A GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE

CONVERGENCE IN CORPORATE GOVERNANCE

CORPORATE GOVERNANCE IN MULTINATIONAL CORPORATIONS

SUMMARY

KEY TERMS

REVIEW QUESTIONS

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

NOTES

INTRODUCTION

Corporate governance has evolved from its role in reducing agency costs to maximizing shareholder wealth and now to the emerging role of creating shareholder value and protecting the interests of all stakeholders. The twenty-first century is viewed as the era of corporate governance in transition from a compliance requirement to a business imperative. The corporate governance structure in different countries is also influenced by the country's cultural, political, and historical factors as well as the legal and regulatory environment. This chapter presents both historical and global perspectives of corporate governance.

Primary Objectives

The primary objectives of this chapter are to

• Realize that corporate governance is evolving and the structure varies across countries, industries, and companies.
• Understand the history of corporate governance.
• Identify and list the cross-country factors that differentiate corporate governance structure across different countries.
• Identify the challenges of the global business and financial markets.
• Provide an overview of corporate governance worldwide.
• Recognize the initiatives taken during the past decade to improve corporate governance ...