Alternative Control Mechanisms Of Corporate Governance And Firm Performance Uk Evidence

This book begins by analysing the various corporate governance mechanisms explored in the extant literature and determining their effectiveness in enhancing the firm value using multivariate analysis. The findings are of global relevance as the corporate governance regulations of most countries focus on independent directors as the mainstay of good governance. The empirical evidence from the first objective of this study corroborates the claim that independent directors do not strengthen the firms’ governance quality. The book is one of the few works to have analysed the possible reasons behind the ineffectiveness of the independent directors. Also, in view of the famous concept of the bundle of governance mechanisms, it might be possible that the independent directors strengthen the firms’ governance quality indirectly by strengthening other governance mechanisms. This aspect too has little precedence. This study adopts a novel moderation and mediation approach to analyse the monitoring behaviour of independent directors in relation to other governance mechanisms. The work is a must read for corporate players as well as researchers and scholars studying this discipline.

The agency model provides a number of ways to address the problems raised by the separation of ownership and control in public limited liability companies. In its Code of Best Practice, the Cadbury Committee proposed a variety of monitoring mechanisms which, if implemented, should improve corporate governance. As part of the Code, it was recommended that firms should have adequate non-executive director representation. They should also appoint an audit committee, the primary purpose of which was to monitor the auditing controls of the company. The extent to which these structures influence performance is analysed. In addition, we analyse the structure and calibre of audit committee membership and its effect on the performance of 312 large UK quoted companies. The effectiveness of the market for corporate control is investigated by means of take-over intensity by sector. We find that neither the independence of the committee membership nor the quality of the committee members has an effect on performance. However, we find that take-over intensity is negatively related to performance. This suggests that external control mechanisms are more effective than internal ones. When performance is split into deciles, there is some evidence that non-executive director independence and the market for corporate control are substitute governance mechanisms.

This paper analyses the relationship between internal and external corporate governance mechanisms and the performance of UK companies within the context of the Cadbury Committee's Code of Best Practice. The results show, first, that the market for corporate control is an effective governance mechanism that may be regarded as a substitute for the other mechanisms. Second, there is a weak relationship between the internal governance mechanisms and performance. Third, there is also little evidence that with firms in the top and bottom performance deciles have different internal governance characteristics. The results therefore raise questions about the efficacy of imposing prescriptive internal governance mechanisms on companies, particularly given that the market for corporate control has been shown to be an effective means of reducing agency costs.

Pt. 1. Alternative perspectives on corporate governance systems -- pt. 2. Equity ownership structure and control -- pt. 3. Corporate governance, underperformance and management turnover -- pt. 4. Directors' remuneration -- pt. 5. Governance, performance and financial strategy -- pt. 6. On takeover as disciplinary mechanism.

Corporate CEOs are headline news. Stock prices rise and fall at word of their hiring and firing. Business media debate their merits and defects as if individual leaders determined the health of the economy. Yet we know surprisingly little about how CEOs are selected and dismissed or about their true power. This is the first book to take us into the often secretive world of the CEO selection process. Rakesh Khurana's findings are surprising and disturbing. In recent years, he shows, corporations have increasingly sought CEOs who are above all else charismatic, whose fame and force of personality impress analysts and the business media, but whose experience and abilities are not necessarily right for companies' specific needs. The labor market for CEOs, Khurana concludes, is far less rational than we might think. Khurana's findings are based on a study of the hiring and firing of CEOs at over 850 of America's largest companies and on extensive interviews with CEOs, corporate board members, and consultants at executive search firms. Written with exceptional clarity and verve, the book explains the basic mechanics of the selection process and how hiring priorities have changed with the rise of shareholder activism. Khurana argues that the market for CEOs, which we often assume runs on cool calculation and the impersonal forces of supply and demand, is culturally determined and too frequently inefficient. Its emphasis on charisma artificially limits the number of candidates considered, giving them extraordinary leverage to demand high salaries and power. It also raises expectations and increases the chance that a CEO will be fired for failing to meet shareholders' hopes. The result is corporate instability and too little attention to long-term strategy. The book is a major contribution to our understanding of corporate culture and the nature of markets and leadership in general.