Table Of Content“This work is a refreshing and concise account of the development of
corporate governance. It offers a fascinating and coherent explanation
of the complexities of governance, and a robust critique of dominant
ideologies. The book highlights the imperative of the transformation
from maximising shareholder value to sustainable value creation.”
—Wafa Khlif, University of Toulouse
Business School, France
Comparative Corporate
Governance
Corporate governance developed to maintain the accountability, sta-
bility, and performance of corporations. It has evolved to concern not
just the financial health of the company, but its social and environmen-
tal impact. There is considerable international institutional diversity
in corporate governance. The role and significance of market institu-
tions varies among different governance systems.
This work provides a concise insight into the defining impulses of late
t wentieth- and early t wenty-fi rst-c entury corporate governance evolv-
ing through a series of competing epoch- m aking paradigmatic contests.
The present paradigm highlights a shift towards corporate sustaina-
bility involving the corporate delivery of l ong- term value in financial,
social, environmental, and ethical terms. In analysing the purpose of
the company and the definition of value creation, the hegemony of
agency theory and shareholder primacy is challenged. More expansive
theoretical explanations are considered which recognise the deeper val-
ues companies are built upon, the wider purposes they serve, and the
broader set of relationships they depend upon for their success.
This book will be of value to researchers, scholars, and students in
corporate governance, sustainability, business, and accounting. Man-
agers, professionals, and other general business readers will also find
this text of interest.
Thomas Clarke is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, Visiting Pro-
fessor at Toulouse Business School ( Barcelona), and was a Foundation
Professor at the China Europe International Business School ( CEIBS).
State of the Art in Business Research
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As a collection, these books provide a library of theoretical and
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foundation stone for a new generation of research.
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A Research Overview
Michelle Carr and Matthias Beck
Comparative Corporate Governance
A Research Overview
Thomas Clarke
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Comparative Corporate
Governance
A Research Overview
Thomas Clarke
First published 2023
by Routledge
4 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2023 Thomas Clarke
The right of Thomas Clarke to be identified as author of this work
has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or
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or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and
explanation without intent to infringe.
British Library C ataloguing-i n-P ublication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging- in- Publication Data
Names: Clarke, Thomas, 1950- author.
Title: Comparative corporate governance: a research overview /
Thomas Clarke.
Description: 1 Edition. | New York, NY: Routledge, 2023. | Series: State
of the art in business research | Includes bibliographical references
and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2022014410 ( print) | LCCN 2022014411 ( ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Corporate governance. | Social responsibility of business.
Classification: LCC HD2741.C5673 2023 ( print) | LCC HD2741 ( ebook) | DDC
658.4 —d c23/e ng/ 20220324
LC record available at https:// lccn.loc.gov/ 2022014410
LC ebook record available at https:// lccn.loc.gov/ 2022014411
ISBN: 9 78-0 -3 67-2 6694- 3 (h bk)
ISBN: 9 78-1 -0 32- 34558- 1 ( pbk)
ISBN: 9 78- 0-4 29- 29464-8 (e bk)
DOI: 10.4324/9 780429294648
Typeset in Times New Roman
by codeMantra
Contents
List of lllustrations ix
1 Introduction to Corporate Governance 1
2 International Diversity of Modes of Corporate
Governance 22
3 Convergence and Divergence of International
Corporate Governance Institutions 56
4 Shareholder Primacy: the End of a Hegemony? 94
5 The Social Licence to Operate: Redefining
Purpose and Fiduciary Duty 118
6 Contemporary Challenges for Corporate
Governance: Technological Transformation and
Climate Change 133
Organisation Index 143
Index 145
Illustrations
Figures
2.1 International Comparison of Large Listed Company
Board Size 30
4.1 Share of All Financial Assets by Net Worth Group in US 106
4.2 CEO to Worker Compensation Ratio in the US, 1965– 2014 110
6.1 The Evolution of Corporate Governance Paradigms 140
Tables
2.1 Properties of Insider and Outsider Systems of Corporate
Governance 24
2.2 Typology of Directors 36
3.1 The Continuing Diversity of Corporate Governance
Systems 81
