Governance Characteristics Research Articles

Corporate governance characteristics and involvement in ESG activities: current trends and research directions

PurposeThis study aims to conduct a comprehensive literature review to examine the relationship between corporate governance characteristics and firms’ engagement in environmental, social and governance (ESG) activities. The review focuses specifically on academic papers published in ranked accounting and finance journals.Design/methodology/approachThe analysis combines a structured literature review with citation analysis, topic modeling using a machine learning (ML) approach and a manual review of selected articles published between 2000 and 2021.FindingsThis paper contributes to corporate governance and ESG literature by conducting an in-depth review, offering a comprehensive analysis of the existing findings and identifying future research directions. From the reviewed literature, this paper proposes the following thematic areas: board characteristics, ownership structure and their impact on a company’s engagement in ESG activities; CEO characteristics and their influence on a company’s involvement in ESG activities; corporate governance and ESG as sources for transparency and legitimacy; internal and external assurance of a company’s involvement in ESG activities; and gender diversity and a company’s involvement in ESG activities.Originality/valueThe study provides a comprehensive understanding of corporate governance and ESG literature. The innovative combination of methods, including ML and manual techniques, enhances the ability to identify key research topics and uncover research directions in the field. Moving forward, this paper suggests several promising directions for future research, including examining the influence of emerging technologies on ESG reporting and assessing the impact of regulatory changes and context on the link between corporate governance and firms’ involvement in ESG practices.

Toward Sustainable Water Governance? Taking Stock of Paradigms, Practices, and Sustainability Outcomes

ABSTRACTGovernance is key to ensuring the sustainability of water systems in the long run. With the recognition of the complexities inherent in governing water resources, new and diverse governance models have started to emerge and be diffused to various contexts. This systematic review explores 223 cases from 165 studies on water governance and sustainability. We assess the cases based on water governance paradigms and how these paradigms relate to governance characteristics, water‐related problématiques, and sustainability outcomes. Our results indicate a lack of knowledge cumulation and patterns connecting problématiques (e.g., “groundwater exploitation in agriculture”) and paradigms (e.g., “community‐based management”). We found that the “integrated approach to water management” was the most common paradigm, and paradigms might manifest with various governance characteristics, some of which may not fully align with the paradigm's fundamental principles. While certain paradigms, such as “integrated approach to water management,” “participatory and collaborative governance,” and “community‐based management,” are mostly associated with better sustainability outcomes, these successes should be interpreted cautiously due to the context‐sensitive nature of paradigms and potential biases in the reviewed studies. These findings provide a basis for further diagnostic work and suggest the need for more nuanced approaches to water governance and sustainability.

Neighborhood Disadvantage and Birth Outcomes Among Refugees.

To examine the association between neighborhood socioeconomic disadvantage and birth outcomes among refugee women in Denmark, leveraging a natural experiment. This register-based study included 15 118 infants born to women who arrived in Denmark as refugees during 1986 to 1998, when a dispersal policy was in place that quasirandomly assigned newcomers to neighborhoods with varying degrees of socioeconomic disadvantage. Neighborhood disadvantage was measured using a composite index representing neighborhood-level income, education, unemployment, and welfare assistance. These data were linked to individual-level birth register data. Outcomes included low birth weight, preterm birth, and small-for-gestational-age infants. Associations between neighborhood disadvantage at resettlement and birth outcomes up to 20 years after resettlement were examined using multivariable regressions adjusting for characteristics of the women at resettlement. Each SD of increase in neighborhood disadvantage was associated with an 18% increase in low birth weight risk (0.61 percentage points [pp], 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.19-1.02), 15% increase in preterm birth risk (0.64 pp, 95% CI: 0.22-1.07), and 7% increase in small-for-gestational-age risk (0.78 pp, 95% CI: 0.01-1.54) 5 years after resettlement. Results did not differ after adjusting for urbanicity and conational density, but associations were attenuated after adjusting for municipality-level fixed effects, suggesting that local government characteristics may partially explain the associations. Resettling in a disadvantaged neighborhood is associated with higher risk of adverse birth outcomes among refugee women. This highlights how policy decisions affecting settlement of refugees can have long-term consequences, including on the health of the next generation.

Information Stratification: An Understanding of Rural Governance in the New Media Era

Current research on media governance emphasizes the technological aspect of information as a tool but lacks sufficient attention to the digital transformation of information subjects. This paper aims to focus on the internal information characteristics of rural governance in the digital age, thus understanding the changes of rural governance subjects in the information society under new media contexts. Based on more than a decade of fieldwork in rural areas of Beijing conducted by the research team, this study employs in-depth interviews and participant observation in a multi-case study, exploring the structural representation of rural governance from an information perspective. The research reveals that in the new media era, rural society, under multiple governance bodies, generates differentiated information stratification, specifically manifesting as instrumental rational information in the formal governance layer, proxy implementation information in the semi-formal governance layer, and livelihood-adaptive information in the informal governance layer. Among these, the authority-driven governance information in the formal layer is the core part of the rural governance system. The subjects and structures of information under multiple governance bodies are interconnected and coexist within the internal field of rural governance, subsequently driving the centralization of formal governance information, the collaboration of semi-formal governance information, and the alienation of informal governance information. This leads to the emergence of orderly information stratification within the multi-layered governance structure. Information stratification deepens the explanatory pathway of multi-layered governance in rural social studies and proposes new perspectives for understanding rural governance issues in the new media era.

Environmental greenwashing in Japan: the roles of corporate governance and assurance

PurposeGreenwashing is defined as the overstatement of companies’ environmental disclosures relative to their performance. This paper aims to develop a greenwashing measure, examines its relationship with environmental performance and investigates the mitigating effects of Japanese firm-level corporate governance characteristics (corporate structure, board leadership, foreign share ownership, ratio of independent directors and ratio of directors’ variable compensation) and third-party assurance of environmental information on the extent of greenwashing.Design/methodology/approachThis paper analyzes a sample of 420 firm-year observations from the period between 2018 and 2019 from Japanese listed companies that responded to the CDP Climate Change survey via probit/logit and multivariate panel data regression models.FindingsThis paper finds that the probability of engaging in greenwashing is negatively associated with environmental performance, which supports the reliability of the study’s greenwashing measure. Japanese firm-level corporate governance characteristics are ineffective at mitigating greenwashing. This paper also finds that assurance carries a significant risk of being exploited by companies involved in greenwashing to increase the degree of their overstatement.Practical implicationsThe findings have significant implications for investors, who should increase scrutiny and skepticism of environmental disclosures, particularly from companies with poor environmental track records. Japanese companies should consider strengthening their corporate governance to ensure the effective oversight of environmental disclosure and performance. Regulators and standard setters should implement stricter guidelines for and oversight of environmental information assurance.Originality/valueNo empirical study has examined the effectiveness of Japanese corporate governance characteristics and environmental disclosure assurance on the mitigation of greenwashing.

The imprint effect of initial institutional environments and bank financing in family businesses

The initial imprint embedded in family business origin provides us with favorable support for identifying how past institutional environments and then current governance characteristics influence financing. This study investigates the influence of family business origin on loan borrowing, and finds that restructured family firms (RFFs), which are formed through the restructuring of collective-ownership enterprises, are likely to obtain more loans compared to entrepreneurial counterparts (EFFs). The effect varies with local marketization, family control rights, and intergenerational succession. Our findings suggest that restructured family firms have a sounder modern enterprise system, less information asymmetry, and consequently pose less credit risk, which allows them to access loans more easily. In addition, institutional differences stemming from the origin of the firms affect the composition and cost of bank financing. RFFs outperform EFFs in terms of the size of non-local bank loans and the cost of loans. Overall, this study shows that the institutional environment of family firms at the founding stage has a long-term impact on future financing.

FROM DISCRETION TO EXPERT JUDGEMENT: RECASTING SEDIMENTED CONCEPTS IN ADMINISTRATIVE LAW

Abstract This article re-examines the traditional account of administrative decision-making under wide conferrals of statutory power. The received wisdom in such cases is that public officials exercise “discretion”, usually defined as freedom of choice. Based on a doctrinal study of the English planning system and related case law, this paper contends that the notion of discretion as choice obscures one of the defining characteristics of modern government. That is, the making of public decisions tackling practical problems with intelligent and expert judgement under legal standards set out in legislation and further developed by the courts. More widely, the paper discusses the foundational role of tacit knowledge and decision-making expertise in public administration.

AI Governance in Higher Education: Case Studies of Guidance at Big Ten Universities

Generative AI has drawn significant attention from stakeholders in higher education. As it introduces new opportunities for personalized learning and tutoring support, it simultaneously poses challenges to academic integrity and leads to ethical issues. Consequently, governing responsible AI usage within higher education institutions (HEIs) becomes increasingly important. Leading universities have already published guidelines on Generative AI, with most attempting to embrace this technology responsibly. This study provides a new perspective by focusing on strategies for responsible AI governance as demonstrated in these guidelines. Through a case study of 14 prestigious universities in the United States, we identified the multi-unit governance of AI, the role-specific governance of AI, and the academic characteristics of AI governance from their AI guidelines. The strengths and potential limitations of these strategies and characteristics are discussed. The findings offer practical implications for guiding responsible AI usage in HEIs and beyond.

Corporate Governance Characteristics and Environmental Sustainability Affect the Business Performance among Listed Saudi Company

Corporate Governance Characteristics and Environmental Sustainability Affect the Business Performance among Listed Saudi Company

Leveraging corporate governance characteristics for stock crash risk assessment

Causing considerable losses for individual investors, stock crashes are also potential triggers for wider financial crises. In contrast to existing research that primarily focuses on specific corporate governance characteristics in relation to stock crash risk, in this study, we construct a set of corporate governance attributes and employ machine learning techniques for a comprehensive assessment of stock crash risk. Through empirical analysis in the Chinese stock market, we find that our corporate governance attributes are effective indicators of stock crash risk, yielding statistically significant and economically meaningful crash risk assessment. Additionally, our heterogeneity tests suggest that firms with less concentrated shareholding result in superior assessment accuracy. This observation is consistent with prior findings that increased retail investor participation enhances corporate governance transparency, thereby contributing to better assessment performance. Industry-wise, the performance of crash risk assessment for real estate companies is higher than that for cultural, sports, and entertainment sectors. We speculate that these variations stem from industry-specific factors, such as business logic, operational models, and profit mechanisms. Our results also suggest that characteristics related to shareholder meetings are pivotal in assessing crash risks for manufacturing companies, while board-related features are essential for real estate firms. Overall, this study contributes to current literature by validating the feasibility of employing corporate governance characteristics to assess crash risk and by exploring the economic value of crash risk assessment. Furthermore, we discuss several valuable insights into the Chinese stock market through heterogeneity analysis.

Municipal Performance and the Utilisation of the King IV Governance Report in South African Municipalities

Since 1994, South Africa has made progress in consolidating its democracy. However, in post-apartheid constitutional democracy, there has been growing concern about the government’s incapacity to render public services to its constituencies. In 2002, the King II report on corporate governance in South Africa was issued with the intention of “promoting the highest standards of corporate governance in South Africa.” The characteristics of corporate governance in the report included transparency, discipline, accountability, independence, fairness, responsibility, and social responsibility while the King IV report was underpinned by 17 principles. Based on these King codes and concerns, the study intends to examine whether the King IV report governance outcomes of 2016 can be used for the benefit of South African municipalities. To realise this objective, the study employed a qualitative research approach in the form of document reviews. Theoretically, the study is underpinned by the elements of the King IV report. The reason for adopting the King IV report is because it is the first code that is outcomes-based and allows the municipalities to see benefits if implemented accurately. The study reveals that there is persistent poor service delivery caused by unethical practices and poor governance in South African municipalities. The study proposes that South African municipalities should embrace the corporate governance principles outlined in the King IV report to mitigate risks such as corruption through the implementation of effective control measures, reduce political interference by ensuring the presence of balanced check mechanisms, and uphold legitimacy by adhering to government policies and laws.

Determining factors associated with vaccination coverage in the first year of life in Brazil (2013−2022)

Access to vaccination has emerged as a growing global public health concern; however, there has been limited research on characteristics of local governments that are associated with vaccination coverage. The objective of this study was to evaluate predictors of vaccination coverage in Brazil for the first year of life between 2013 and 2022. We focused on variables pertaining to the available resources of local governments and their investments in infrastructure and human resources in the health sector. We used binomial generalized linear mixed models to estimate the association of these variables with vaccination coverage in Brazilian municipalities. Our results show that municipalities with better fiscal capacity were more effective in delivering vaccines. Municipalities that rely more on federal and state resources had lower vaccination coverage. Additionally, investment in health professionals was often negatively correlated with vaccination coverage. The study underscores the importance of better understanding the relationship between local government characteristics and vaccination coverage, particularly in regions where local governments are responsible for vaccine delivery.

Corporate Governance Attributes and Sustainability of Selected Commercial State Corporations in Kenya

The sustainability of an organization means a lot, for it guarantees social responsibility, financial savings, preservation of resources, reduction of waste, and environmental protection. Kenya's commercial State Corporations face instances of mismanagement, financial improprieties, and inadequate disclosure and have expressed concerns regarding the sustainability and efficacy of these institutions. Specifically, this investigation sought to address these issues by examining the link between corporate governance characteristics and the viability of commercial state corporations in Kenya. The objectives were to evaluate the effect of board members' occupational expertise, board committee meetings, board tenure and board size on the sustainability of commercial state corporations in Kenya. The research can be pegged on 5 major theories, which encompass the Triple Bottom Line Model, Agency Theory, Stakeholders Theory, and Resource Dependence Theory. The Explanatory research design and research design were used in the research. Panel regression analysis was the chosen empirical model, considering the panel data nature of the research. The audited financial reports of the five firms served as the source of secondary data using a data collection schedule guide. Census was utilized because the target population of five commercial state corporations was below the central limit theorem threshold of the normal population. Diagnostic tests for the study were multicollinearity, normality, stationarity, heteroscedasticity, and the Hausman specification test, which were conducted to ensure the sturdiness of the results. Data was analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Descriptive analysis involves means and standard deviations, while inferential analysis utilizes panel regression analysis. Finally, the data analysis output was presented using tables. The study further concluded that the coefficient for board committee meetings was not significant, suggesting that meeting frequency does not significantly affect sustainability. Board tenure demonstrated a significant positive impact on sustainability, while board size also showed a significant positive effect. In an increasingly dynamic business environment, commercial state corporations should embrace innovation and adaptation to remain resilient and sustainable. This may involve leveraging emerging technologies, exploring new business models, and anticipating and responding to evolving market trends and regulatory requirements. Boards should encourage a culture of innovation and agility to drive long-term value creation and competitiveness.

Tweeting climate change: analyzing actor diversity and influence in climate-change discourse post-Paris agreement

The Paris Agreement represents the notable characteristics of global environmental governance, namely multi-actor and multi-level governance. Despite these changes, limited empirical studies have investigated the actors in global environmental governance who participate in political discourse on climate change. To comprehend whether or not the Paris Agreement’s actors represent the transformation of global environmental governance, we adopted a big-data approach to analyze Twitter’s climate-change discourse. The classification of actors provided an understanding of the diversity of the actors involved in providing public information. We also calculated the closeness centrality and identified the changes in the actors’ influence, comparing the changes in the 5 years since the Agreement was adopted. The results showed an increased diversity of actor types. Non-state actors are not homogeneous in their changes, and Intergovernmental Organizations exhibited an increased influence. The findings indicated that the actors participating in the climate-change discourse post-Paris Agreement partially reflect the changes in global environmental governance.

Karakteristik Islam dalam Tata Kelola Lingkungan Hidup: Studi Kasus Pemberian IUP Pertambangan dan Mineral kepada Organisasi Masyarakat Keagamaan

The article examines Islamic characteristics of environmental governance with a focus on the granting of mining and mineral business licences (IUPs) to religious organisations. This case study was conducted to understand how Islamic principles can be applied in sustainable and responsible environmental governance practices. The article used a qualitative approach with a case study method involving document analysis and participatory observation. The results showed that Islamic principles, such as tawhid (the oneness of God), Khilafah (human leadership on earth), and Kaslahah (public interest), play an important role in decision-making regarding the granting of IUPs. In addition, this study found that the application of Islamic values in environmental governance can improve compliance with environmental regulations and strengthen commitment to nature conservation. These findings make an important contribution to the development of policies that integrate religious values in environmental governance in Indonesia.

Soft information monitoring along the supply chain: Customer geographic proximity and firms’ ESG performance

Previous research ignored the characteristics of environmental, social, and governance (ESG). ESG is soft information. Geographical proximity is important for external stakeholders to monitor firms' soft information. This study examines the impact of customer geographic proximity (CGP) on firms' ESG performance. We hand-collect data on the geographical distance of 29,111 pairs of Chinese A-share listed companies and their top-five customers from 2009 to 2022. First, we find that CGP promotes firms' ESG performance. The results still hold after considering the exogenous influence of the introduction of high-speed rail on CGP. Second, cross-sectional analysis shows that CGP exerts a more pronounced influence on firms with severe information asymmetry. Third, impact channel tests indicate that CGP promotes firms' ESG performance by increasing firms' cash flows. Fourth, the impact of CGP is more obvious when customers have stronger risk management motivation. Collectively, this study provides new insights into factors affecting firms’ ESG performance.

Does carbon emission trading scheme inhibit corporate executives' pursuit of excess compensation? Evidence from a quasi-natural experiment in China

Carbon regulation, which affects corporate management's carbon reduction and related decisions, has the potential to influence corporate executives' pursuit of excess compensation. Using the pilot policy of the carbon emissions trading scheme (CETS) in China as a quasi-natural experiment, we examine the impact of this policy shock on corporate executives' excess compensation through data from listed manufacturing companies from 2007 to 2020. Our findings show that the executives' excess compensation of manufacturing companies in the pilot regions shows a significant decline owing to the policy shock of CETS, which is supported by a rich set of robustness tests. Furthermore, the mechanism tests indicate that reducing agency costs and stimulating employment demand are two channels for CETS to inhibit excess compensation of corporate executives, and that the factor marketization and the nature of firms' property rights play moderating roles in this inhibitory effect. Heterogeneity analysis indicates that the inhibitory effect of CETS on the excess compensation of corporate executives also varies depending on the differences in corporate governance characteristics. Overall, these findings provide evidence for the regulatory effect of CETS in the contract design of corporate executives' compensation and also provide empirical support for emerging economies to alleviate income inequality by achieving carbon equality.

The Influence of Governance Characteristics and Enterprise Risk Management on Intellectual Capital in Banking in Indonesia

Intellectual capital (IC) is a crucial driver of developing knowledge-based economic value for an organization, such as a bank. With intellectual capital, company can generate knowledge-based economic value as a source of competitive advantage, influencing innovation and value for stakeholders. This research aims to analyze and explain the influence of governance characteristics and enterprise risk management on intellectual capital in banking in Indonesia. The independent variables are audit committee, board independence, institutional ownership, enterprise risk management, return on assets, leverage and corporate social responsibility as well as the dependent variable intellectual capital. The data used in this research is secondary data sourced from the annual reports of banking companies listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange (BEI) during the period 2018 to 2022. The research sample was selected using a purposive sampling method so that 42 companies were sampled. The data analysis used to test the hypothesis is multiple regression analysis using e-views 9. The research results show that the audit committee has a positive effect, board independence has a negative effect, institutional ownership has a negative effect, enterprise risk management has no effect, return on assets has an effect positively, leverage has no effect, and corporate social responsibility has a negative effect on intellectual capital. Implications of this research to understand how bank managers affect intellectual capital, this study examines a variety of factors, including audit committee, board independence, institutional ownership, enterprise risk management, return on assets, leverage and corporate social responsibility. It suggests that managers should focus on enhancing their intellectual capital to make informed investment decisions and effectively manage their bank's resources, thereby enhancing their investment performance.

The Role of Corporate Governance in Shaping IFR Practices of Listed Companies in Sri Lanka

Objective – This study investigates the relationship between corporate governance characteristics and Internet Financial Reporting (IFR) in the context of listed companies in the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE).Design/Methodology – The key metrics for assessing corporate governance characteristics include board size, independence, CEO duality, women in the board, audit committee independence, and ownership concentration. These data were derived from the published annual reports. Employing content analysis, the study measures IFR disclosure using secondary data from the published annual reports of 201 listed companies in Sri Lanka.Results – The mean value of listed companies' IFR disclosure is 50.66% in Sri Lanka. Regression results show that audit committee independence and ownership concentration significantly impact the IFR. However, no statistical evidence supports other variables' significant impact on IFR.Research limitations/implications – This study relies upon only 201 listed firms’ data for a financial year in Sri Lanka and the statistical model includes only five corporate governance-related variables. The study's findings contribute to the reform of corporate governance practices, corporate governance literature, and information asymmetry theory. Moreover, results have practical implications for the composition of the board and audit committee.Novelty/Originality – This study contributes to the existing literature and lays the groundwork for future research by providing new insights into the adoption of IFR practices in Sri Lanka and other similar nations. Examining the impact of corporate governance on IFR practices in listed firms within a developing country sheds light on the significance of corporate governance and IFR.

Addressing brain drain and strengthening governance for advancing government readiness in artificial intelligence (AI)

PurposeThis study aims to investigate the impact of brain drain on government AI readiness in EU member countries, considering the distinctive governance characteristics, macroeconomic conditions and varying levels of ICT specialists.Design/methodology/approachThe research employs a dynamic panel data model using the System Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) to analyze the relationship between brain drain and government AI readiness from 2018 to 2022. The study incorporates various control variables such as GDP per capita growth, government expenditure growth, employed ICT specialists and several governance indicators.FindingsThe results indicate that brain drain negatively affects government AI readiness. Additionally, the presence of ICT specialists, robust governance structures and positive macroeconomic indicators such as GDP per capita growth and government expenditure growth positively influence AI readiness.Research limitations/implicationsMajor limitations include the focus on a specific region of countries and the relatively short period analyzed. Future research could extend the analysis with more comprehensive datasets and consider additional variables that might influence AI readiness, such as the integration of AI with emerging quantum computing technologies and the impact of governance reforms and international collaborations on AI readiness.Practical implicationsThe theoretical value of this study lies in providing a nuanced understanding of how brain drain impacts government AI readiness, emphasizing the critical roles of skilled human capital, effective governance and macroeconomic factors in enhancing AI capabilities, thereby filling a significant gap in the existing literature.Originality/valueThis research fills a significant gap in the existing literature by providing a comprehensive analysis of the interaction between brain drain and government AI readiness. It uses control variables such as ICT specialists, governance structures and macroeconomic factors within the context of the European Union. It offers novel insights for policymakers to enhance AI readiness through targeted interventions addressing brain drain and fostering a supportive environment for AI innovation.