Governing The Firm In The Social Interest

The corporate business enterprise is a core institution of capitalism. It holds immense political, economic, and cultural power in society. It mobilizes social and planetary resources to its utility in pursuit of private profit maximization and with little regard for social concerns. Its influence over so much of societal life and effects on the natural environment raise critical questions about the firm and its governance in democratic society. Various voices seek reforms of regulation and corporate governance practices to those shaped by the neoliberal policies persisting in the current decades. But prospects for amelioration within our current horizons of thinking appear elusive. This book contributes a distinctly social theoretical approach to the social problem of governing the firm. Its discussions complement debates in economics, politics, and law. Its critical social theorizations challenge conventional understandings of the firm and neoliberal legitimacies of its governance and posit alternatives. The book explores the social relations and moral fabric of the firm and the creativity of human action at work. It proposes a reimagined corporate governance premised on just recognition of that social vitality. It invites unprecedented collaboration for a robust participatory democracy for governing the firm and market action oriented to ecological and social sustainability.

New trends are emerging regarding earnings management and corporate governance showing similarities and striking differences in the practices of different countries and economies. These new trends currently shape the field of modern corporate governance with crucial issues being looked at in governance law and practices, accounting systems, earnings quality and management, stakeholder involvement, and more. In order to advance these new avenues in corporate governance, research looks at accounting policies firms use in different opportunistic circumstances in order to manage earnings, the corporate governance practices in different countries, firm performance, and other dimensions of companies. The understanding of these topics is beneficial in understanding the current state of different types of firms and their practices in modern times. Comparative Research on Earnings Management, Corporate Governance, and Economic Value is focused on the investigation of key challenges and perspectives of corporate governance and earnings management and outlines possible scenarios of its development. The chapters explore this new avenue of research and cover theoretical, empirical, and experimental studies related to different themes in the global context of earnings management and corporate governance. This book is ideal for economists, businesses, managers, accountants, practitioners, stakeholders, researchers, academicians, and students who are interested in the current issues and advancements in corporate governance and earnings management.

Corporate social responsibility is examined in this book as multi-stakeholder approach to corporate governance. This volume outlines neo-institutional and stakeholder theories of the firm, new rational choice and social contract normative models, self regulatory and soft law models, and the advances from behavioural economics.

The current economic situation has highlighted deficiencies in corporate governance while also showing the importance of stakeholder relations. It has also raised the profile of the debates regarding corporate social responsibility and shown the inter-relationship with governance. And the two together are essential for sustainable business. The social and environmental contexts of business are generally considered to be as significant as the economic and financial contexts and good governance will address all of these aspects. The combination of these aspects offers long term benefits for a firm, such as reducing risk and attracting new investors, shareholders and more equity as well as sustainable performance. Written by experts from all over the world, A Handbook of Corporate Governance and Social Responsibility is the most authoritative single-volume guide to the relationship between good governance and social responsibility and the reality of managing both. In addition to the theory and practice of governance and CSR, the book includes case studies from large and small organizations and NGOs to highlight examples of good and bad practice, and to show international and cultural similarities and differences while at the same time furthering the debate regarding the relationship between good governance and social responsibility.

This Handbook presents a theory of Business Interest Associations and fifteen empirical country by country case studies in the EU. The book is organized into three main parts. Part I develops a theory of business associations which centres on firm size as the key explanatory variable. Part II consists of country studies covering the EU-15, which are written along strictly comparable lines of analysis. Part III contains the cross-nationally comparative analysis. The book will make essential reading for researchers working in organization studies, industrial relations, industrial sociology and political science, as well as practioners in related fields.

Connecting Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) with Corporate Governance (CG) is a 21st Century challenge. This edited volume illustrates that CSR can be used as a tool to improve Corporate Governance in organizations and improve the relationship between business and society. Moreover the book argues that they should be treated together in synergy in management literature. This two volume work connects these two crucial business functions, describing the preconditions for successful integration and the tools for practical implementation. Volume 2 puts forward eight recommendations for practice. Contributors put forward research and implications for policy and practice including coverage of knowledge management strategy, socially responsible banking operations and transparency procedures in the context of emerging economies.

"These authors argue that efficient corporate governance requires the establishment of devices of cooperation among the various stakeholders that enable the operation of collective learning. Their contributions to this book clearly enunciate both the need for such organisational learning and the lessons of several specific recent transformations in governance practice that manifest a degree of such learning.".

This volume explores corporate governance from three perspectives: a traditional economic, a philosophical, and an integrated business ethics perspective. Corporate governance has enjoyed a long tradition in the English-speaking world of management sciences. Following its traditional understanding it is defined as leadership and control of a firm with the aim of securing the long-term survival and viability of that firm. But recent business scandals and financial crises continue to provide ample cause for concern and have all fuelled interest in the ethical aspects. As a result, corporate governance has been criticized by many social groups. Economic sciences have failed to provide a clear definition of the corporate governance concept. Complexity increases if we embed the economic approach of corporate governance in a philosophical context. This book seeks to define the concept by examining its economic, philosophical and business ethics foundations.

Corporate law and governance are at the forefront of regulatory activities worldwide, and subject to increasing public attention in the wake of the Global Financial Crisis. Comprehensively referencing the key debates, the Handbook provides a much-needed framework for understanding the aims and methods of legal research in the field.

This exciting new text provides a complete introduction to Corporate Governance. It deals with the control and direction of companies by boards, owners and company law, and also looks at the mechanisms of governance and the different governance systems around the world. Part 1: is a non-technical overview of the relevant theories, governance mechanisms and the country models.Part 2: looks at some of the most important governance mechanisms in detail.Part 3: studies individual international corporate governance systems.Part 4: wraps up with a discussion on governance practices.