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Naeem Tabassum · Satwinder Singh

Corporate
Governance and
Organisational
Performance
The Impact of Board
Structure
Corporate Governance and Organisational
Performance

“In today’s complex and fast-moving business world, corporate governance


practices are crucial for navigating change and managing new risks. Research
continue to show the positive impact that governance mechanisms can have on
business competitiveness. This thought-provoking book offers valuable insights
on the link between governance and organizational performance, while it high-
lights best practices that can easily be implemented by Boards.”
—H.E. Hamad Buamim, President & CEO, Dubai Chamber of Commerce &
Industry, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

“This methodologically sophisticated and controversial study disputes the corre-


lation between good corporate governance and financial performance in a pio-
neering study of Pakistan. Tick-box compliance cultures turn out to have little
value compared to long-term strategies to create value.”
—Geoffrey Jones, Isidor Straus Professor, Harvard Business School, Boston, USA

“Corporate Governance and Organizational Performance - The impact of


Board Structure is a timely piece of research conducted with an extensive and
in-depth analysis of data base of listed companies in Pakistan. The research is
also of critical contemporary relevance to fellow emerging economies around the
world that share similar political, economic, social, technological, and legal set-
ups with Pakistan. Several of these economies are vying to be a major player in
their respective regions. Lesson this research imparts is that companies that dil-
igently apply the principles of corporate governance in all fairness and transpar-
ency have the potential to outperform rivals. The study highlights how a Board is
structured and conducts, influences the market value of companies. This in turn
inspires investors’ lending and investing decisions. Policy recommendations of
the study are that a corporate sector comprising of companies that implement
the code of conduct of good governance, both, in letter and spirit could be the
future of Pakistan vis-à-vis emerging economies.”
—Rizwan Sayed, Tax Director—PWC London, former Sr. VP Faisal
Islamic Bank, Bahrain
“We know that good corporate governance is fundamental to organizational suc-
cess, yet why is this the case? Moreover, articulating what makes the difference
and why is less clear, until now. This book seeks to distil the wealth of wise com-
mentary about why good corporate governance matters into a tangible evidence
base. I will be using some of the ideas from this book in my own work as a Board
evaluator, independent NED (non-executive director), and keen observer of all
things corporate governance.”
—Lucy McClements, Independent NED, Consultant, and former
UK regulator, London, United Kingdom
Naeem Tabassum · Satwinder Singh

Corporate Governance
and Organisational
Performance
The Impact of Board Structure
Naeem Tabassum Satwinder Singh
London, UK Dubai Business School
University of Dubai
Dubai, United Arab Emirates

ISBN 978-3-030-48526-9 ISBN 978-3-030-48527-6 (eBook)


https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-48527-6

© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer
Nature Switzerland AG 2020
This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the
Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights
of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction
on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and
retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology
now known or hereafter developed.
The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this
publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are
exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use.
The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and
information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication.
Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied,
with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have
been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published
maps and institutional affiliations.

This Palgrave Macmillan imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature
Switzerland AG
The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland
With deepest love and respect for family members past and present
certaines dettes sont difficiles à rembourser
Foreword

Corporate Governance is rightly regarded as one of the key issues of our


time. Business is a dominant force in the economic performance and
political life of all major nations. Corporate Governance can be studied
from different perspectives. There is a wealth of literature on business
ethics, much of which is concerned with Corporate Social Responsibility
(CSR). However, a great deal of this literature is concerned with ‘preach-
ing’ rather than teaching or research. The delivery of CSR programmes
depends on the system of Corporate Governance. Corporate Governance
has to deliver on both financial performance and on social responsibil-
ity. This book focuses on financial performance; however, many of its
findings also have implications for the delivery of social responsibility.
Strong financial performance can provide a springboard for investing in
CSR programmes. The converse also applies: strong CSR can enhance
company reputation and brand value and thereby improve financial
performance.
This book focuses on the structure of the Board. It examines the divi-
sion of powers between the chair of the Board and the Chief Executive
Officer (CEO), and how strictly this division is maintained. It consid-
ers the diversity of Board members (gender and nationality of directors),
access to external information and opinion through non-executive direc-
tors, and access to expertise through sub-committees. It shows that the
size, structure and composition of the Board are all crucial to the way in
which the firm is managed. On the other hand, however, it also sounds
a warning: the structure of the Board must be adapted to the business

vii
viii FOREWORD

environment of the firm. A Board structure that works well in one con-
text may not work so well in another. Managers and policymakers need
to identify the contingent factors determining the type of Board that is
most appropriate in each set of business circumstances. ‘One size fit all’
does not apply to the composition of a Board.
The information provided in this study is invaluable. The research
methodology sets a new standard for other researchers in the field. A
wide range of readers will benefit from studying this book. It addresses
important issues of general concern and does with an exceptional degree
of intellectual rigour.

Mark Casson
Director of the Centre for Institutions
and Economic History/Professor of Economics
University of Reading
Reading, UK
Preface

The work on which this monograph is based was first conducted as doc-
toral work and won the Brunel University Vice Chancellor’s first prize in
2018 for its originality and quality; however, this did not come around
easily. Several years ago, when Naeem—a professional accountant, as a
freshly minted MBA, also from Brunel—came around and started to dis-
cuss the topic, I was apprehensive, and warned of the difficulties and pit-
falls in this type of work. I am an economist by training, but also have an
honours First Degree in accountancy. My contention was that, if we were
to say anything meaningful, it would have to be based on solid factual
analysis, which can only be conducted if detailed time series data on key
accounting and Board structure variables could be collected. After delib-
erations, we agreed to take on the project and also decided to back-up
the findings with the help of a field survey, which was supposed to yield
qualitative insights to supplement the quantitative results. Sadly, owing
to time and financial constraints, we had to drop the latter and focus on
the data side of things only. The survey questionnaire we had drafted
came to be donated to another researcher working on the same topic in
Pakistan.
The fact that work had started to attract attention on its own per-
haps would not have been enough to coax us to publish it as a research

ix
x PREFACE

monograph.1 Our search showed that, to date, no work of this nature


has been shared in a monograph form with researchers, practitioners and
institutional agencies of Pakistan—an emerging economy that shares
most of its economic and social attributes with fellow emerging econ-
omies. The statistical analysis has yielded meaningful insights into the
link between Corporate Governance and performance (see Chapter 4).
Researchers seeking to pursue future work of this nature will find the
methodology adopted helpful. The framework applied in this work is
also sufficiently robust to be operationalized for future empirical works.
Managers will find plenty of useful advice to enhance performance.
Practitioners working in the field of advising firms would find the results
useful in their toolbox of consulting ideas and sermons. Much of the
existing research has been conducted in the Anglo-American context,
where firms have diffused ownership, capital markets are efficient, and
shareholder rights are strongly protected by various laws. In contrast,
institutional settings and the economic environment differ significantly in
emerging economies, and, as such, the findings of studies conducted in
developed countries are not generalizable. There is significant potential
for this research to benefit, notably those bearing similarities to Pakistan
in terms of their culture, political, social and economic structures.
We would have liked to see more robust links between CG and finan-
cial performance of firms than those that finally came around. The only
way to explain this conundrum is to borrow from Sir Mervyn King:

Good Corporate Governance is about ‘intellectual honesty’ and not just


sticking to rules and regulations, capital flowed towards companies that
practiced this type of good governance.
—Mervyn King (Chairman: King Report)

Furthermore, as a piece of advice for corporate sector of Pakistan vis-à-vis


emerging economies:

It is clear that good Corporate Governance makes good sense. The name
of the game for a company in the 21st Century will be conform while it
performs.
—Mervyn King (Chairman: King Report)

1A paper partially based on this work in British Journal of Management, is also now
gradually gaining momentum (cf. Singh S, Tabassum N, Darwish T, Batsakis G (2017),
‘Corporate Governance and Tobin’s Q as a Measure of Organizational Performance’
British Journal of Management. ISSN 1045-3172. DOI: 10.1111/1467-8551.12237.
PREFACE xi

And finally:

Global market forces will sort out those companies that do not have sound
Corporate Governance.
—Mervyn King S.C. (Chairman: King Report)

London, UK Naeem Tabassum


University of Dubai, UAE Satwinder Singh
Acknowledgements

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious and the Most Merciful, for giving
me the opportunity to achieve this success.
I am grateful to many people who have encouraged me through-
out the development of this text. First and foremost, I am thankful to
Professor Satwinder Singh, the co-author of this text and my supervisor,
for his outstanding support in a very professional and positive manner
during my Ph.D. journey at Brunel University, London. My thanks also
go to Rizwan Sayed, Lucy McClements and me ex-colleague Mrinal Ray
(Jack) for their wonderful feedback on this work.
I am grateful to all my family members, especially my wife Sehar and
lovely daughters, Iman and Sara, for their love, support and patience. I am
indebted to my daughter Sara for her ‘editorial skills’ (she changed one
word but is threatening to sue me if I do not give her any credit for it).
Dr. Naeem Tabassum
ACA, FCCA, MBA, Ph.D.
Chartered Accountant and Business Advisor
Naeem and Associates
London, UK
I owe deepest sense of debt to John Dunning (late) and Mark Casson
who were instrumental for my entry in the academic world at the
University of Reading, UK.
My sense of gratitude goes to my ex-colleagues, friends, and stu-
dents at Brunel University Business School Dean Thomas Betteridge,

xiii
xiv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

students Tamer Darwish, Fattaah Mohamed, and Georgios Batsakis.


Admin staff Narinder has been wonderfully helpful. At the University of
Dubai Business School, Professors Eesa M Bastaki, Geoffrey Gachino,
Amr Mortagy, Mohamed Osman, admin staff Munira and Manar have
always provided an invaluable support. Finally, raison d'être, son Gagan,
and spouse Madhu from whom I learnt that ‘it’s not where you are in
life, it’s who you have by your side that matters’.
Our publishing contacts at Palgrave Macmillan, Jessica Harrison and
Arun Kumar Anbalagan, and Keerthana Muruganandham—thanks to
you for being so understanding and helpful.

Professor Satwinder Singh


B.Com (Hons), M.A. (Econ), Ph.D. (Econ)
Professor of International Business and Strategy
University of Dubai, Business School
Dubai, UAE
Contents

1 Corporate Governance 1
Introduction 1
Corporate Governance (CG) 2
Defining Corporate Governance 3
Narrow View of CG 4
Broader View of CG 5
The Importance of CG 6
Enron 8
Parmalat 9
Palmer & Harvey 10
HIH Insurance 10
China Aviation Oil 11
Satyam Computers 11
Mehran Bank 12
The Rationale for This Study 12
References 14

2 Theories, Models and Mechanisms 17


Theories of CG 17
Agency Theory 18
Resource-Dependence Theory (RDT) 20
Stakeholder Theory 22
Stewardship Theory 24

xv
xvi CONTENTS

Transaction Cost Economics (TCE) Approach 25


Class and Managerial Hegemony 26
Social Contract Theory (SCT) 26
Legitimacy Theory 27
CG Models 28
Anglo-American Model 28
The German Model 29
The Japanese Model 29
Corporate Governance in Pakistan 30
Convergence of Corporate Governance Models 32
CG Mechanisms 33
Internal Mechanisms 34
External Mechanisms 34
Relationship Between Internal and External Mechanisms 35
Landmark CG Developments 37
The Cadbury Report 37
The OECD Principles 38
ASX Corporate Governance Council 38
The King Reports (South Africa) 39
The Sarbanes-Oxley Act, 2002 (US) 39
Code of Corporate Governance of Pakistan 40
Summary 40
References 41

3 Predictions of Corporate Governance Models 49


Introduction 49
Agency Perspective 50
Resource Dependence Perspective (RDP) 51
Stakeholder Perspective 51
Multi Theory Approach 52
Multi-theory Framework Adopted for This Research 55
Selected Key Studies 56
Hillman and Dalziel (2003) 57
Nicholson and Kiel (2004) 58
Levrau and Van den Berghe (2007) 59
Approach of This Research 61
Predictions of Our Proposed Models 63
Board Roles and Performance 63
Monitoring Role and Firm Performance (Board Meetings) 63
CONTENTS xvii

Resource-Dependence Role and Firm Performance


(Board Size) 65
Board Structure and Performance 66
Board Independence 67
CEO Duality (Board Leadership) 69
Board Diversity 71
Board Committees 73
Audit Committee Independence 76
Ownership Concentration 78
Summary 81
References 82

4 Research Design and Statistical Method 95


Introduction 95
Sample, Study Period, and Data Source 96
Sample Firms 96
Study Period 99
Data Source 99
Analytical Approach 100
Reasons for Panel Data 100
Types of Panel Data Analytic Models 101
Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) 102
Fixed Effects Model (Least Squares Dummy Variable Model) 102
Random Effects Models 103
Panel Data Specification Tests 104
Serial Correlation 104
Heteroscedasticity 104
Multicollinearity 105
Endogeneity 105
Operationalisation and Measurement of Variables 106
Independent Variables 106
Board Independence (BINDP) 110
CEO Duality (CEODUL) 110
Board Diversity (DIVERSE) 110
Board Committees (BCOMTS) 111
Audit Committee Independence (ACIND) 111
Dependent Variables—Performance Variables 111
Moderating Variables 115
Mediating Variables 116
xviii CONTENTS

Empirical Model 117


Summary 121
References 122

5 Empirical Results and Discussion 135


Introduction 135
Descriptive Statistics 136
Distribution of Sample Firms by Characteristics 136
Firm Performance Measures 136
Independent Variables 139
Control Variables 147
Correlation Analysis 150
Board Independence (BINDP) 150
CEO Duality (CEODUL) 154
Board Diversity (DIVERSE) 155
Audit Committee Independence (ACIND) 155
Board Committees (BCOMTS) 156
Board Size and Board Meetings 156
Ownership Concentration 157
Control Variables 157
Panel Data Specifications and Diagnostic Tests 158
Pooled OLS vs. Random and Fixed Effects 158
Random and Fixed Effects 159
Variance Inflation Factor (VIF) Test of Multicollinearity 161
Breusch-Pagan/Cool-Weisberg Test for Heteroscedasticity 163
Wooldridge Autocorrelation Test 163
Regression Analyses—Testing the Conceptual Framework 164
Board Size (Resource-Dependence Role) as the Mediator
of Tobin’s Q 164
Board Meetings (Monitoring Role) as the Mediator of TQ 176
Board Size (Resource-Dependence Role) as the Mediator
of ROA 183
Board Meetings (Monitoring Role) as the Mediator of ROA 189
Board Size (Resource-Dependence Role) as the Mediator
of ROE 194
Board Meetings (Monitoring Role) as the Mediator of ROE 198
Discussion 201
CONTENTS xix

Corporate Governance and Firm Performance


(Direct Effects) 202
Mediation Effects of Board Roles on Firm Performance 211
Moderating Effects of the SECP’s Code on Firm Performance 212
References 213

6 Summary and Implications of the Study 223


Prelude 223
Implications 225
Contribution 227
Application and Implications for Fellow Emerging Economies 228
Results Within the Framework of PESTLE Analysis
of Emerging Economies 228
Limitations 230
Avenues for Future Research 231
References 232

Appendices 235

References 273

Index 309
Abbreviations

ACCA Association of Chartered Certified Accountants


ADB Asian Development Bank
AMLA Anti-Money Laundering Act
ASX Australian Securities Exchange
CDC Central Depository Company
CDS Central Depository System
CEO Chief Executive Officer
CIPE Centre for International Private Enterprise
CSR Corporate Social Responsibility
FDI Foreign Direct Investment
GATT General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade
GDP Gross Domestic Product
GMM General Method of Moments
ICAP Institute of Chartered Accountants of Pakistan
IFC International Financial Corporation
IFRS International Financial Reporting Standards
IMF International Monetary Fund
IPR Intellectual Property Rights
IV Instrumental Variables
KSE Karachi Stock Exchange
OECD Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
OLS Ordinary Least Squares
PESTLE Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Legal and Environmental
PICG Pakistan Institute of Corporate Governance
RDT Resource Dependence Theory
ROA Return on Assets

xxi
xxii ABBREVIATIONS

ROE Return on Equity


ROSC Review of Observance of Standards & Codes
SBP State Bank of Pakistan
SCT Social Contract Theory
SECP Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan
SOE State-Owned Enterprise
TQ Tobin’s Q
TRIPS Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights
UN United Nations
VIF Variance Inflation Factor
WB World Bank
WTO World Trade Organisation
List of Figures

Fig. 1.1 A model of corporate governance (Source Corporate


governance and the balance sheet model of the firm—adapted
from Ross et al. [2005]) 3
Fig. 2.1 Issues in agency theory (Source Adopted and modified
from Murthy [2007]) 19
Fig. 2.2 The resource-dependent view of firms (Source Authors own
elaboration) 21
Fig. 2.3 The firm and its stakeholders (Source Adopted from
Rodriguez et al. [2002]) 23
Fig. 2.4 The stewardship model of corporate governance 25
Fig. 2.5 Internal and external factors of corporate governance
environment (Source Muir and Saba [1995]) 35
Fig. 3.1 The multi-theoretical approach to corporate governance
(Source Christopher, 2010) 54
Fig. 3.2 Suggested theoretical framework of corporate governance
and firm performance 56
Fig. 3.3 Integrated model of board functions, antecedents and firm
performance (Source Hillman & Dalziel, 2003) 58
Fig. 3.4 Intellectual capital model of board (Source Nicholson & Kiel,
2004) 59
Fig. 3.5 Board effectiveness model (Source Levrau & Van den Berghe,
2007) 60
Fig. 3.6 An integrated model of board structure, board functions
and firm performance 61

xxiii
xxiv LIST OF FIGURES

Fig. 4.1 Research philosophy of the current research (Source Adopted


from Partington, 2008, cited in Paul, 2009) 96
Fig. 5.1 Mediation process (Source Baron and Kenny [1986]) 170
List of Tables

Table 2.1 Key differences between the Pakistan’s and


Anglo-American corporate governance 31
Table 4.1 Research sample 97
Table 4.2 Summary description of variables, data sources
and literature references 107
Table 5.1 Distribution of sample firms by characteristics 136
Table 5.2 Descriptive statistics of firm performance measures 137
Table 5.3 Firm performance—comparison of mean values
for pre- and post-2012 139
Table 5.4 Descriptive statistics of independent and mediating
variables for pre and post (2012) implementation
of revised code of corporate governance 140
Table 5.5 Descriptive statistics of board independence 141
Table 5.6 Descriptive statistics of CEO duality 142
Table 5.7 Descriptive statistics on board committees 143
Table 5.8 Descriptive statistics of audit committee independence 144
Table 5.9 Descriptive statistics of board size 145
Table 5.10 Descriptive statistics of board meetings 146
Table 5.11 Board characteristics—comparison of mean values
(pre- and post-2012) 146
Table 5.12 Descriptive statistics on control variables 147
Table 5.13 Descriptive statistics of firm size 148
Table 5.14 Descriptive statistics of firm leverage ratio 149
Table 5.15 Control variables—comparison of mean values
for pre- and post-2012 149

xxv
xxvi LIST OF TABLES

Table 5.16 Correlation matrix of financial performance and corporate


governance variables (2009–2015) 151
Table 5.17 Correlation matrix of financial performance and corporate
governance variables (2009–2011) 152
Table 5.18 Correlation matrix of financial performance and corporate
governance variables (2013–2015) 153
Table 5.19 Breusch-Pagan Lagrange Multiplier (LM) test 159
Table 5.20 Hausman specification test for TQ (Random vs. Fixed) 160
Table 5.21 Hausman specification test for ROA (Random vs. Fixed) 160
Table 5.22 Hausman specification test for ROE (Random vs. Fixed) 161
Table 5.23 Results of the Variance Inflation Factor (VIF) test 162
Table 5.24 Breusch-Pagan/Cook-Weisberg Test for Heteroscedasticity 163
Table 5.25 Wooldridge autocorrelation test 163
Table 5.26 Tobin’s Q regressions with board size (random
effects—main, mediating and moderating effects) 165
Table 5.27 Tobin’s Q regressions with board meetings (random
effects—main, mediating and moderating effects) 177
Table 5.28 ROA regression with board’s resource provision role:
random effects—main, mediating and moderating effects 184
Table 5.29 ROA regression with board’s monitoring role: random
effects—main, mediating and moderating effects 190
Table 5.30 ROE regression with Board’s resource provisioning role:
random effects—main, mediating and moderating effects 196
Table 5.31 ROE regression with Board’s monitoring role: random
effects—main, mediating and moderating effects 199
CHAPTER 1

Corporate Governance

This objective of this chapter is to introduce the concept of Corporate


Governance and define the concept in its narrow and broader outlook.
The chapter also explain the importance of CG and the rationale behind
this work. The discussion is organized under the following headings.

• Introduction
• Concept of Corporate Governance
• Definition of Corporate Governance
• Importance of Corporate Governance
• Rationale for This Study
• Motivation for This Study.

Introduction
We are living in an era of unprecedented globalisation that is transform-
ing the face of the world economy. A gradual lifting of trade barriers,
revolution in telecommunications, data processing and transportation
facilities have accelerated the pace of global inter-dependence turning the
world into an increasingly level playing field. Whereas there is no deny-
ing the positive impact of globalisation, its overall benefits remain une-
venly distributed across developed and emerging economies. Inadequate
development of Corporate Governance (CG) principles, particularly in
emerging economies, is seemingly an important factor that contributes
to this disparity. CG ‘is the whole system of controls, both financial and

© The Author(s) 2020 1


N. Tabassum and S. Singh, Corporate Governance and Organisational
Performance, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-48527-6_1
2 N. TABASSUM AND S. SINGH

otherwise, by which a company is directed and controlled’ (Cadbury,


1992). It involves a set of rules and relationships between the inter-
nal and external stakeholders of a company, aimed at creating an
­environment in which the company can achieve its business objectives.
CG is a widely accepted tool in keeping businesses under control and
checks so as to prevent management from abusing their power and
corporate resources for personal benefit.
Evidence suggests that the degree to which companies comply with
good CG practices is an important factor in investors’ decision in choice
of companies. In 1996, McKinsey surveyed a large number of US inves-
tors, with the majority of respondents confirming they were willing to
pay a higher price for shares in companies that were well-governed,
responsive and proactive when it came to protecting the interests of
shareholders. In June 2002, McKinsey conducted a similar survey in
other parts of the world, including Asia, Europe and Latin America, with
respondents registering the same opinion as their American counterparts
in terms of being willing to pay premium for the shares and securities
of well-governed and transparent companies. Investors—both individ-
ual and institutional—are therefore recognised as being more likely to
risk their financial resources by making investments in companies with
a good record of CG achievements (Bushee, Carter, & Gerakos, 2014),
less information asymmetry and exploitation of the rights of minority
shareholders (Choe, Kho, & Stulz, 2005).
Corporate Governance practices have the potential to become a
powerful development tool for emerging economies seeking to achieve
national objectives. The importance of CG, for the commercial success
and ultimately (given the global hold of private enterprises) for the social
welfare of the world cannot be overstated. In the next section, we further
clarify the concept of CG.

Corporate Governance (CG)


The term ‘governance’ has its origin in Latin word gubernare, mean-
ing ‘to steer’, and has commonly been applied in the context of
the steering of a ship (Solomon, 2010). Corporate Governance,1 as
a term, is used as a proxy for authority and control in the context of

1 Henceforth we may use ‘governance’ to mean ‘Corporate Governance’.


1 CORPORATE GOVERNANCE 3

Fig. 1.1 A model of corporate governance (Source Corporate governance and


the balance sheet model of the firm—adapted from Ross et al. [2005])

public companies (Luo, 2007). Figure 1.1 portrays the essence of CG


in business environment; the left-hand side of the diagram depicts the
elements of a company’s internal CG whilst the right-hand side displays
the external elements of CG on the company. The management of the
company is shown as acting on behalf of the company’s shareholders
to decide where to direct the company’s financial and other operating
resources. The Board of Directors, as the most important component of
internal mechanism of CG, has the responsibility of advising and mon-
itoring management, hiring and firing, and senior management teams
(Jensen, 1993). The model highlights the separation between providers
and users of financial resources in a publicly traded firm, with this separa-
tion creating the need for suitable governance structures.

Defining Corporate Governance


The concept of CG, and the understanding of such, varies from firm to
firm, country to country, and even from scholar to scholar. Different
authors have defined the term CG in different ways and done so notably
in line with their own understanding, experience and interest in the sub-
ject. Some authors have defined the term in its narrow sense, whereas oth-
ers explain it in relation to its broader meanings (Abdullah & Page, 2009).
4 N. TABASSUM AND S. SINGH

Despite the fact that CG has become a buzzword, its precise definition
remains blurred (Gillan, 2006). A survey of literature revealed an absence
of consensus as to what constitutes CG (Solomon, 2010). Following sec-
tion presents some of the commonly cited definitions in their narrow and
broad perspectives.

Narrow View of CG
In its narrowest sense, CG is defined as a system of relationships amongst
the internal actors of a firm, namely its Board of Directors, manage-
ment and shareholders. When defined in its narrow sense, the defini-
tion suggests that both the directors and management of the company
are only accountable to its shareholders (Cadbury, 1992; La Porta,
­Lopez-de-Silanes, & Shleifer, 1999; Shleifer & Vishny, 1997). Sir Adrian
Cadbury, in his famous and widely recognised report The Financial
Aspects of Corporate Governance, defined CG as follows:

Corporate Governance is the system by which companies are directed and


controlled. Boards of directors are responsible for the governance of their
companies. The shareholders’ role in governance is to appoint the direc-
tors and the auditors and to satisfy themselves that an appropriate gov-
ernance structure is in place. The responsibilities of the directors include
setting the company’s strategic aims, providing the leadership to put them
into effect, supervising the management of the business and reporting to
shareholders on their stewardship. The Board’s actions are subject to laws,
regulations and shareholders in general meeting. (Cadbury, 1992: 14)

Similarly, Shleifer and Vishny (1997) define CG as “the ways in which


suppliers of finance to corporations assure themselves of getting return
on their investment”. CG has also been defined as “a set of mechanisms
through which outside investors (owners) protect themselves against expro-
priations by the insiders (managers)”. According to La Porta et al.
(1999), CG may be inferred as “a set of mechanisms through which outside
investors (owners) protect themselves against expropriations by the insiders
(managers)”.
The narrow view of CG is all about protecting the interest of those
who have supplied financial resources to the company.
1 CORPORATE GOVERNANCE 5

Broader View of CG
The wider view of CG suggests taking a look beyond the interests of
investors and the company’s internal responsibilities. This view of CG
suggests that companies have a set of economic and social responsibilities
as well, towards other stakeholders in the company, including, for exam-
ple, employees, suppliers and the community. OECD has outlined this
perspective as follows:

Corporate Governance involves a set of relationships between a company’s


management, its Board, its shareholders and other stakeholders. Corporate
Governance also provides the structure through which the objectives of
the company are set, and the means of attaining those objectives and mon-
itoring performance are determined. (OECD, 2004: 11)

CG with a broader view has also been defined as:

The system of checks and balances, both internal and external to compa-
nies, which ensures that companies discharge their accountability to all
their stakeholders and act in a socially responsible way in all areas of their
business activity. (Solomon, 2010: 6).

In an elaborate attempt CG has also been defined as:

the private and public institutions, including laws, regulations and accepted
business practices, which together govern the relationship, in a market
economy, between corporate managers and entrepreneurs (‘corporate
insiders’) on one hand, and those who invest resources in corporations, on
the other. Investors can include suppliers of equity finance (shareholders),
suppliers of debt finance (creditors), suppliers of relatively firm-specific
human capital (employees) and suppliers of other tangible and intangible
assets that corporations may use to operate and grow. (Oman, 2001: 13)

Although there is no sole universal definition of CG, policymakers in dif-


ferent countries pursue the same objectives when seeking to grow public
trust and the confidence of investors (ICAEW, 2005). It is clear from
the definitions that good CG be founded on the principles of protec-
tion, accountability, transparency and disclosure. In its narrow outlook,
at the organisational level, CG creates trust between the suppliers of
finance and the company’s management; in its wider sense, CG creates
6 N. TABASSUM AND S. SINGH

overall confidence at the aggregate economy level. In both cases, the end
goal is to protect shareholders whilst ensuring an efficient allocation of
resources for benefits of wider communities (OECD, 2004). This dual
objective makes CG more important and more difficult not only to
understand but also to apply to a wider group of stakeholders.
In this book, we argue that CG mechanism is a combination of both
internal and external factors put together to create an environment of
trust, ethics and moral values to direct and control the activities of com-
panies to create economic value for shareholders and to achieve a balance
between public and private interests.

The Importance of CG


McKinsey in 1996 surveyed a large number of US investors, and sub-
sequently found that investors were willing to pay a higher price for
shares in companies that were well-governed, responsive and proactive
in protecting the interest of shareholders. In a similar survey conducted
in 2002 in other parts of the world, including Asia, Europe and Latin
America, investors expressed similar sentiments, i.e. that they were will-
ing to pay premium for the shares and securities of well-governed and
transparent companies. This has also been confirmed in academic studies
(see, for example, Chen, Chen, & Chung, 2006). It has generally been
recognised that investors—individual and institutional—are more likely
to risk their financial resources by making investments in companies with
a good record of CG achievements (Bushee et al., 2014) and reduced
information asymmetry and exploitation of the rights of minority share-
holders (Choe et al., 2005). Good governance practices have the poten-
tial to become a powerful development tool, particularly in emerging
economies seeking to achieve goals of industrialisation.
Stressing the importance of good CG for domestic and international
economic activities, the OECD (2004) stated:

If countries are to reap the full benefits of the global capital market, and
if they are to attract long-term ‘patient’ capital, Corporate Governance
arrangements must be credible and well understood across borders. Even
if companies do not rely primarily on foreign sources of capital, adherence
to good Corporate Governance practices will help improve the confidence
of domestic investors, may reduce the cost of capital, and ultimately induce
more stable sources of financing. (OECD, 2004: 13)
1 CORPORATE GOVERNANCE 7

Similarly, highlighting the importance of CG practices alongside


the need to improve and reform these practices at an international
level, Arthur Levitt, former Chair of the US Securities and Exchange
Commission has commented:

If a country does not have a reputation for strong Corporate Governance


practices, capital will flow elsewhere. If investors are not confident with
the level of disclosure, capital will flow elsewhere. If a country opts for lax
accounting and reporting standards, capital will flow elsewhere. All enter-
prises in that country – regardless of how steadfast a particular company’s
practices may be – suffer the consequences. Markets must now honor what
they perhaps, too often, have failed to recognise: markets exist by the grace
of investors.

The importance of sound CG is also evident when considering the rapid


development of reforms, best practice, and CG codes around the world,
including the Combined Code in the UK, Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX)
in the US, Principles and Recommendations of the ASX Corporate
Governance Council in Australia, the King III report in South Africa,
and G20/OECD Principles of Corporate Governance and the revised
Code of Corporate Governance in Pakistan.2 Jinarat and Quang (2003)
argue that the true importance of CG may be seen to lie in its ability to
effectively and efficiently deal with critical business issues. CG plays an
important role in creating value for shareholders. It serves as a mech-
anism in reducing perceived investment risk, and, as a result, investors
may demand lower rates of return on the capital they provide (Suchard,
Pham, & Zein, 2012). It is a key investment factor influencing institu-
tional investors’ decisions to invest in developing and emerging markets
(Gibson, 2003).
Whether or not a company considers CG to be important will in part
depend on how it thinks about it. If the company considers it as a com-
pliance issue for the company’s secretary to handle and the Board to sign
off on, then the company probably does not give it much weight. If, on
the other hand, it considers CG as strategic control framework within

2 Failure of some high-profile companies has been the driver behind many of these

reforms. Some well-known cases from around the world are: Enron (USA); BHS (UK);
Siemens (Germany); Parmalat (Italy); HIH Insurance (Australia); Satyam Computer
(India); Taj Company (Pakistan); Pakistan Railway (Pakistan).
8 N. TABASSUM AND S. SINGH

which to set the company’s operational and behavioural standards for the
Board, the executive management and the wider staff, it will then be an
essential part of the company’s strategic corporate planning and execu-
tion. We believe that CG-orientated companies attempt to achieve not
only better performance but also access to low-cost financial resources,
combined with the propensity to attract and retain investors. This is par-
ticularly pertinent in the context of the emerging economies, such as
Pakistan, where companies compete fiercely for a limited pool of availa-
ble investible funds from lending institutions. Capital markets are under
developed, and financial institutions are not yet fully established in devel-
oping countries, which ultimately makes it doubly hard for companies to
obtain investment funding (McGee, 2009).
There are a number of high-profile corporate scandals and ultimate
collapses that have occurred despite the fact that accounting records
of these collapsed companies were subject to audit, and on the sur-
face seemed satisfactory. These scandals and consequent collapses not
only shook the capital markets around the world at the time when
they happened, they also had serious repercussion on the lives of inves-
tors, employees who lost their livelihood and savings invested in pen-
sion funds, contractors, and creditors who lent funds to the company.
Invariably, these collapses can be traced back to weak and sometime
­blatantly corrupt CG practices. We highlight a selection of such cases.

Enron
Enron an energy company was founded in 1985 and it was one of the
top 10 companies in the USA based on its reported turnover published
in its accounts for the year ending December 2000. Enron’s bank-
ruptcy in December 2001 is hailed as the largest bankruptcy in the US
corporate history.3 Its spectacular fall can be gauged from the fact that
in October 2001 before the bankruptcy was announced, its share price
had plummeted from $90 to $0.50. Enron’s accounting practices were
anything but transparent and not in line with corporate governance
best practices. The company’s auditors Arthur Andresen (who also went
under with it) used fraudulent accounting practices to hide its mount-
ing losses. The company used special purpose entities (SPEs) structure

3 A celebrated documentary on it can be found at: https://www.youtube.com/

watch?v=_0vRuHn9MmI.
1 CORPORATE GOVERNANCE 9

to hide its losses and mask liabilities. Enron showed billions of dollars
in profit while in reality it was rapidly losing money. The accounting
practices adopted by the company (and signed off by the auditors) main-
tained the fictitious rise in its share price but made it difficult for inves-
tors to understand how the company was making profit. The financial
irregularities at Enron resulting in its bankruptcy only show the impor-
tance of ethics, integrity, and honesty in corporate governance practices.
This much publicised failure emphasized the need for board of direc-
tors to act with honesty and integrity and external auditors to ask the
right questions to protect the interest of all stakeholders. Enron’s col-
lapse also stresses the need and importance of experienced non-executive
independent directors in the monitoring the activities of the execu-
tive directors. The Cadbury (1992) makes it clear that ‘Non-executive
directors should bring an independent judgement on issues of strategy,
performance, resources, including key appointments and standards of
conduct.’

Parmalat
Parmalat, an Italian company in dairy and food industries and a subsid-
iary of French multinational company Lactalis, was founded in 1961.
Despite becoming a spectacularly successful company, it collapsed in
2003 and has become Europe’s most prominent bankruptcy case study.
The company’s reach extended to 30 countries at its peak where it
acquired companies via debt financing. By the end of 2001, many of the
Parmalat’s acquired companies and divisions were making losses. The
company changed its financial strategy and moved to the use of com-
plex financial derivatives in an attempt to conceal its losses and financial
liabilities. In 2003, Parmalat found itself in serious financial difficulties
when it failed to honour bond payments, despite the fact that finan-
cial statements of the company were showing significant cash reserves.
Eventually, irregularities in its accounting records were discovered and
this highlighted an enormous black hole in its accounts. It was discov-
ered that €3.9 billion which were held in one of its subsidiary (Bonlat)
bank account with Bank of America in the Cayman Islands was forged
and did not exist. The company founder was found guilty of pro-
viding false and factious accounting information and deceiving the
investors. Similar to Enron, the downfall of Parmalat shows the impor-
tance of effective Corporate governance. It reinforces the belief to
10 N. TABASSUM AND S. SINGH

establish strong risk-based monitoring within the company’s governance


structure to stop the abuse of power and the use of unethical and
­fraudulent practices.

Palmer & Harvey


The collapse of Palmer & Harvey in the UK is a recent case which has
raised a number of questions on the quality and integrity of audit report-
ing, accounting practices, and corporate governance practices of the
companies operating in the country (Garrow & Awolowo, 2018). The
company had debts of over £700m when it collapsed and went into
administration in November 2017. The company’s financial reports
indicated that the company was facing cash-flow problems. The inves-
tigation from The Work and Pensions Select Committee into the col-
lapse of Palmer & Harvey exposed that directors and shareholders had
received millions of pounds in cash from the grocery wholesalers and
paid out more than £80m on its borrowing. The investigation also dis-
covered that the company sustained its dividend payments to share-
holders despite the growing deficit of the company’s pension fund. The
Investigation Committee’s report also exposed the chairman of the com-
pany who took about £6m as a loan to buy shares in the company from
an employee benefit trust in 2006. According to the same report, the
chairman, along with his spouse also received £2.5m in dividends from
2009. The collapse of Palmer & Harvey is an example of the lack of
separation between control and ownership and misalignment between
directors’ remuneration with the company’s financial performance and
stakeholders’ interests.

HIH Insurance
The collapse of HIH one of Australia’s leading insurance provider was
an enormous event in the corporate history of the country. This collapse
has become one of the largest corporate failure of the country with debts
of over A$5bn. The company went into financial troubles in 2001 when
company had written its insurance policies cheaply and failed to put
enough provisions to meet future obligations. The collapse of the com-
pany is due to its poor strategy i.e. enormous debt and inability to repay
dues on it brought the company down. The collapse of HIH highlights
the growing importance of the Government, the Regulators, Auditors
1 CORPORATE GOVERNANCE 11

and the role board of directors. The collapse also shows that financial
institutions with their complex rules and reporting requirements, are
more likely to collapse in the absence of effective corporate governance,
due diligence, and leadership.

China Aviation Oil


China Aviation Oil (CAO) is a Singapore based company with its ulti-
mate control in the hands of its Chinese State-Owned parent company.
The company got into financial trouble in 2004 and suffered a loss of
US500 million on its speculative oil derivates trading. The CEO of the
company was charged in Singapore for forgery, insider trading and failure
to disclose the true financial position of the company. CAO started trad-
ing options in 2002 and 2003 but the trading was not disclosed in the
financial statements. Then from March 28, 2003, CAO started trading
options on its own account. By not following the best accounting prac-
tices, CAO made a critical error in the valuation of options. CAO valued
options at intrinsic value and ignored time value of money. As men-
tioned, CAO is a state-owned subsidiary and may have suffered due to
state influence and poor corporate governance practices. It is not uncom-
mon in state owned businesses for CEOs to have all the power which
allow them to take decisions in the best interest of the state rather the
wider stakeholders of the company.

Satyam Computers
Satyam Computers was a well-known Indian company which, similar
to Enron, its poor corporate practices brought it down. The nature of
the fraud committed at Satyam were similar in nature with the decep-
tion that caused Enron to collapse. In both the companies, the CEO
and the senior management of the companies systematically overstated
profits and understated financial liabilities in order to make their com-
panies look more attractive and appear much healthier than they actu-
ally were. The company tried to hide losses from investors and reported
made up cash balances in the financial statements. Even though Satyam
Computers was bought by another Indian Tech company, the share-
holders of Satyam Computers lost a significant value of their stake
in the business.
12 N. TABASSUM AND S. SINGH

Mehran Bank
Mehran Bank was incorporated in October 1991 as public limited com-
pany and the bank’s shares were quoted on Karachi and Lahore Stock
exchanges in Pakistan. The founder and Chief Operating Officer of the
bank was a retired employee of another bank in Pakistan. He founded the
bank with the help his political allies and supporters. Since its incorpo-
ration, there were serious doubts about the objectives of the bank. With
access to powerful connections, even the State Bank of Pakistan exercised
little control over scrutinizing Mehran Bank’s licence application. The
bank misappropriated billions of Rupees as loans and donations to fund
the election campaign run by the bank’s affiliates. This financial collapse
of the bank exposed weaknesses in the country’s Corporate Governance
practices and raised serious doubts over the fair and transparent func-
tioning of financial institutions. The impacts of this corporate fraud were
widespread and were felt at individual, organisational and national levels.
A selection of cases as briefly discussed above show the importance
of good CG practices for the long-term survival of the company to safe-
guard interests of a myriad of stakeholders who have stakes in the com-
pany. Good CG practices not only safeguard the stakeholders but also
safeguard the enormous resources of the company in which funds are
sunk to yield future profits and value to society.

The Rationale for This Study


The Anglo-American CG model is a suitable governance model for mar-
ket economies. However, the economies of the continental Europe and
Japan operate differently from the Anglo−American model (Aoki & Ki
Kim, 1995) and it is also true for developing economies and those in
transition. For example, in Pakistan, instead of diffused shareholding,
concentrated ownership and banks have played an exclusive role in the
development of CG structures. Aoki and Ki Kim (1995) have argued
that the coexistence of the substitute models for corporate control sug-
gest that possible “lessons” from developed economies, for developing
and transition economies are not so obvious. A unique angle to which
this book points out is the emphasis on understanding the true nature of
the CG practices in developing countries such as Pakistan. Developing
and transition economies often lack the supporting institutional set-ups
and human resources and expertise essential for the implementation of
1 CORPORATE GOVERNANCE 13

a sound CG; the challenge for these countries is to adapt systems of CG


tuned to their own corporate sector realities and implementation capabil-
ities, public and private, for them to be able to create a culture of com-
pliance and enforcement (Iskander & Chamlou, 2000). It is essential for
authorities and companies in Pakistan to understand this challenge so
that they can respond positively to the pressures of good CG. This book
would help them realise that by refining the system of CG they could
win investors’ confidence and attract financial resources to help deliver
better performance and value for stakeholders. Appendix D at end of the
book presents a detailed context of this study which would help readers
further understand the nature of CG in Pakistan.
When the work on this project was first initiated, a review of the liter-
ature revealed that relatively little attention had thus far been dedicated
towards developing an understanding of the links between CG and firm
performance, particularly in the context of emerging economies. In the
context of developed countries as well, the relationship between CG and
firm performance remains uncertain and is characterised by a degree of
ambiguity since a large majority of studies have only examined direct links
between CG practices and performance (O’Connell & Cramer, 2010).
Furthermore, the existing literature provides evidence of an excessive reli-
ance on the use of Agency Theory as a perspective from which to under-
stand governance–performance relationships (Shleifer & Vishny, 1997).
Ambiguity and doubts surrounding these mixed findings are reported
in many studies (e.g., Carpenter, Geletkanycz, & Sanders, 2004; Daily,
Dalton, & Cannella, 2003; Ghoshal, 2005), which have similarly ques-
tioned the suitability of Agency Theory in answering and covering all
aspects of the relationships between CG and performance. There is no
shortage of studies (see. Aguilera, Williams, Conley, & Rupp, 2006; Pye
& Pettigrew, 2005; Roberts, McNulty, & Sitles, 2005) in which research-
ers established that the scope of Agency Theory as being too narrow
to understand and explain the dynamic nature of CG and the roles of
various governance systems for diverse types of organisations operating
under different political and economic settings. Therefore, many research
questions remain unanswered in terms of the true nature of CG, its
­
impacts on firm performance, the protection of shareholder interests, and
other issues in the context of both developed and emerging economies.
There is a dearth of empirical evidence due to a lack of research initia-
tives, but possibly more importantly due to the non-availability of reliable
data. This work is an attempt to address this gap.
14 N. TABASSUM AND S. SINGH

There is significant potential for this research to benefit, notably those


bearing similarities to Pakistan in terms of their culture, political, social
and economic structures.

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CHAPTER 2

Theories, Models and Mechanisms

This chapter outlines the development of Corporate Governance


­discipline and provides a review of the central theories concerned with
the Corporate Governance. The chapter compares and contrasts a
number of theoretical frameworks and mechanisms, both internal and
external, that are adopted in this study in an effort to understand the
relationship between the structure of corporate Boards and their links
with firm performance. The specific objective of the chapter is to gain an
understanding of:

• Theories of Corporate Governance


• Corporate Governance Models
• Convergence of Corporate Governance Models
• Corporate Governance Mechanisms
• Landmark Developments in Corporate Governance.

Theories of CG
The development of CG is linked closely with the economic develop-
ment and diverse governance mechanisms developed to accommodate
different forms of corporate structures designed to achieve economic
­
goals. A number of unique theoretical structures have been developed
in an effort to explain and understand CG, each of which consider
CG from different angles. The theoretical literature on the develop-
ment of CG, as based on a number of theories, has its roots in diverse

© The Author(s) 2020 17


N. Tabassum and S. Singh, Corporate Governance and Organisational
Performance, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-48527-6_2
18 N. TABASSUM AND S. SINGH

disciplines, including accounting, finance, law, economics and international


business (Solomon, 2010). Although the concept of CG has recently come
to prominence, theories underpinning its development date from much
earlier (Mallin, 2007). Therefore, some theories are recognised as being
more suitable, applicable and relevant to some countries than others.
The following section presents a summary account of essential theo-
ries linked to the development of CG systems and practices around the
world.

Agency Theory
A large amount of CG literature—notably in both developed and devel-
oping economies—has been built around the concept of Agency Theory.
Agency Theory was first introduced by Alchian and Demsetz (1972),
which was then further developed by Jensen and Meckling (1976: 308),
who explained Agency Theory as “a contract under which one or more
persons (the principal(s)) engage another person (the agent) to perform
some service on their behalf which involves delegating some decision making
authority to the agent”.
The theory is based on the concept of a separation within public
companies between shareholders (principals) and executive manage-
ment (agents) due to the company’s diffused ownership structure (Berle
& Means, 1932; Jensen & Meckling, 1976). The theory assumes that,
when both parties in the Agency relationship seek to maximise their own
utility, there is good reason to believe that the agent is unlikely to act in
the best interests of the principal (Jensen & Meckling, 1976). The the-
ory is primarily concerned with two issues that can arise in an Agency
relationship: the first arises when the parties in the relationship have
conflicting goals, and it is costly and difficult for the principal to mon-
itor and confirm both the agent’s actual actions and whether or not the
agent has followed the Agency contract correctly; the second issue relates
to the management of risk when the principal and agent have different
views and attitudes towards risk management. The theory also assumes
that those agents who normally control and possess internal and supe-
rior information may afford less importance to the owner’s interest and
engage in selfish behaviour (Fama & Jensen, 1983). Figure 2.1 illustrates
the various issues involved in the Agency relationship.
An Agency relationship gives agents incentive to expropriate the assets
of their firm by undertaking self-profiting projects with the potential to
2 THEORIES, MODELS AND MECHANISMS 19

Fig. 2.1 Issues in agency theory (Source Adopted and modified from Murthy
[2007])

yield personal benefits. Unless there are appropriate control mechanisms


in place centred on restricting the agent from behaving in self-­interested
manner, the self-interested behaviour of the agent will increase the
Agency costs involved in writing and enforcing contracts (Fama &
Jensen, 1983; Jensen & Meckling, 1976; Shleifer & Vishny, 1997).
Agency theorists have designed several governance systems—both
internal and external—in an effort to reduce conflicts of interests
between parties and the Agency costs involved in a principal-agent rela-
tionship. Agency Theory views CG systems—particularly the Board
of Directors—as being an essential element of the governance system
in ensuring that problems resulting from the principal-agent relation-
ship are controlled (Mallin, 2007). The theory offers a useful frame-
work focused on understanding the monitoring function of the Board,
which requires that Boards play a ‘watchdog’ role since their fiduciary
duty is to protect the interest of shareholders (Bainbridge, 1993; Berle
& Means, 1932; Hillman & Dalziel, 2003). The monitoring func-
tion of the Board can reduce Agency costs inherent in the separation
of ownership and control, and, thus, improve firm performance (Fama,
1980; Mizruchi, 1983; Zahra & Pearce, 1989). Agency Theory advo-
cates a separate leadership structure, Board independence, and various
20 N. TABASSUM AND S. SINGH

Board committees as optimal monitoring devices to reduce Agency costs


whilst also maximising the value of firms. The focus of Agency Theory is
directed towards determining the optimal contracts requiring implemen-
tation to control and influence the self-interested behaviour of the agent
(Eisenhardt, 1989).
A large amount of the existing literature on CG has emerged from
Agency Theory, yet the theory is subject to growing criticism and
remains problematic for researchers (Filatotchev, Jackson, & Kakajima,
2013). Globerman, Peng, and Shapiro (2011) argue that, for better
understanding of CG practices, researchers need to understand the insti-
tutional frameworks within which firms operate. Building on the existing
literature, Filatotchev et al. (2013) argue that the relationship between
the Board of Directors and firm performance may differ depending on
the legal system and institutional characteristics of any given country.
Agency Theory is more relevant to the Anglo-Saxon models of CG. The
specific conditions assumed under these models are the exception, rather
than the norm, for a large part of the world, including countries in the
South Asian region, which tend to feature high concentration of owner-
ship in listed companies (La Porta, Lopez-de-Silanes, & Shleifer, 1999).

Resource-Dependence Theory (RDT)


Resource-Dependence Theory (RDT) suggests that companies largely
depend on their external environment, particularly other organisations,
for their economic success—and, in some cases, for their survival. The
theory provides a hypothetical view in which the Board of Directors is a
critical resource for companies (Hillman, Cannella, & Paetzold, 2000).
The core of the theory suggests that, in a highly competitive business
environment, companies seek to control the uncertainty of external fac-
tors by ensuring that adequate internal resources are available and put in
place to deal with the competition (Barney, 2007). The main claim of
the theory is that companies seek to achieve control over their environ-
ment by overcoming their weaknesses and exploiting their opportunities.
From this perspective, RDT suggests that directors have a critical role
to play in connecting the firm with its external environment by securing
the resources required by the firm to successfully compete in its business
environment (Pfeffer & Salancik, 1978) and to enhance organisational
performance (Daily, Dalton, & Cannella, 2003).
2 THEORIES, MODELS AND MECHANISMS 21

The Board of Directors is an important mechanism for absorbing


critical elements of environmental uncertainty into the firm (Yusoff &
Alhaji, 2012). Emphasising the importance of the Board’s composi-
tion, Pearce and Zahra (1992) highlight the importance of the Board
of Directors beyond its traditional monitoring tasks, which are normally
viewed only from an Agency Theory perspective. In contrast to Agency
Theory, RDT suggests that a company’s Board is a strategic resource
linking the company to its external environment and providing access to
various external resources. According to RDT, the role of the Board is
centred in bringing resources to the firm, such as information, skills and
access to key suppliers, buyers and policymakers, in addition to business
legitimacy (Gales & Kesner, 1994; Hillman et al., 2000). In this sense,
the theory presents a strategic view of CG and views corporate Boards as
the linchpin between a company and the resources it needs to achieve its
strategic objectives (Barney, 2007; Tricker, 2012).
Figure 2.2 shows that firms use resources that are dependent upon the
external environment; turning them into output to create shareholder
wealth through better performance.
This theory is important when seeking to garner understanding
into the need for CG mechanisms, particularly the role of the Board of
Directors. RDT suggests that good CG is achieved when Board mem-
bers are appointed based on their knowledge, expertise and business
links to help firms cope successfully with uncertainties in their business

Fig. 2.2 The resource-dependent view of firms (Source Authors own


elaboration)
22 N. TABASSUM AND S. SINGH

environment. From the RDT perspective, a Board that is structured in


an attempt to exercise control over its external environment is likely to
be fully equipped and well diversified (Burton, 1991), with a majority
of non-executive outside directors helping the company gain access to
vital resources (Johnson, Daily, & Ellstrand, 1996) and business legiti-
macy (Hillman et al., 2000). Rashid (2015) argues that there are many
qualities of independent directors that can add value to the firm. This
theory supports the appointment of directors to multiple Boards because
of their opportunities to gather information and network in various ways.
Williamson (1988) suggests that a firm can reduce the transaction costs
associated with environmental interdependency through environmental
connections or network governance.

Stakeholder Theory
Although company management is driven by a number of objectives,
the main objective of any commercial organisation is to create wealth
(value) for its shareholders. Therefore, a company’s management would
usually only adopt a view that supports and creates wealth for its share-
holders (Barney, 2007). However, this narrow focus on the maximisation
of shareholder wealth could have a negative impact on the interests of
other stakeholders in the company: it must be considered that companies
are an inherent part of the society in which they operate, and they also
have legal, social and ethical responsibilities to safeguard the interests of
everyone with a stake in them (Coyle, 2010).
Stakeholder Theory offers a wider view of companies, and considers
the interests of other stakeholders, such as customers, employees, dis-
tributors, suppliers, government and communities. McDonald and Puxty
(1979) argued that companies are no longer the instruments of share-
holders alone, and that they exist within communities, and, as such, have
responsibilities to those communities. The theory is rooted in the man-
agement discipline and has developed gradually following the work of
Freeman (1984). The theory suggests that companies are not merely a
pool of resources put together solely for the ultimate benefit of share-
holders, but that they are also vehicles for achieving social purposes
(Kanter, 2011). There are a number of different groups that are both
involved and participate in the success of a company, with each group
entitled to obtain its fair share of benefits from the company’s success
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PROLOGUE 7
I. — DEUX HOMMES, DEUX CHIMÈRES 23
II. — LES CAVALIERS… 34
III. — … ET LEUR MONTURE 55
IV. — PROPOS ENTRE CIEL ET TERRE 64
V. — LE JOUR VIOLET 77
VI. — SUR LA PIERRE BRUNE 91
VII. — CEINTRAS ÉGARE SON OMBRE ET SA RAISON 101
VIII. — LA FACE AURÉOLÉE D’ÉTOILES 118
IX. — HEURES D’ATTENTE 130
X. — L’ÊTRE SE MONTRE 143
XI. — EXCURSIONS SOUTERRAINES 163
XII. — FAUX DÉPART 189
XIII. — L’AGONIE DE LA LUMIÈRE 206
XIV. — ÉCRIT SOUS LA DICTÉE DE LA MORT 226
ÉPILOGUE 233
ACHEVÉ D’IMPRIMER
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