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Corporate Governance, Competition, and Political Parties Explaining Corporate Governance Change in Europe

Author: Roger M. Barker
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 9780199576814
Published In: January 2010
Format: Hardback , 348 pages
Jurisdiction: Europe ? Disclaimer:
Countri(es) stated herein are used as reference only

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Description
Contents
Author

Details
- Explores the links between politics, political parties, and corporate governance systems in different countries
- Examines the paradox of how shareholder-orientated corporate governance has become more prevalent under social democratic or labour-oriented politics
- Draws on qualitative and quantitative analysis, illustrated by case studies from Germany and Italy
- Engages with key literature in Corporate Governance, Varieties of Capitalism, etc.
The corporate governance systems of continental Europe have traditionally been quite different to those of the liberal market economies (e.g. the US and the UK). Company ownership has been dominated by incumbent blockholders, with a relatively minor role for minority shareholders and institutional investors. Business strategy has focused on the achievement of social stability - taking into account the interests of a broad group stakeholders - rather than the maximisation of shareholder value.

However, since the mid-1990s, European corporations have adopted many of the characteristics of the Anglo-American shareholder model. Furthermore, such an increased shareholder-orientation has coincided with a significant role for the Left in European government. This presents a puzzle, as conventional wisdom does not usually conceive of the Left as an enthusiastic proponent of pro-shareholder capitalism. This book provides an analysis of this paradox by examining how economic factors have interacted with the policy preferences of political parties to cause a significant change in the European system of corporate governance.

This book argues that the post-war support of the European Left for the prevailing blockholder-dominated corporate system depended on the willingness of blockholders to share economic rents with employees, both through higher wages and greater employment stability. However, during the 1990s, product markets became more competitive in many European countries. The sharing of rents between social actors became increasingly difficult to sustain. In such an environment, the Left relinquished its traditional social partnership with blockholders and embraced many aspects of the shareholder model.

This explanation is supported through a panel data econometric analysis of 15 non-liberal market economies. Subsequent case study chapters examine the political economy of recent corporate governance change in Germany and Italy.

Readership: Academics and Researchers of Corporate Governance in Business, Economics, Politics, and Finance
1: Introduction: Partisanship and the Puzzle of Corporate Governance Change in Europe
2: A Theory of Partisanship and Corporate Governance Change
3: Alternative Explanations of Corporate Governance: A Critique of the Literature
4: Measuring Change in Corporate Governance
5: The Measurement of Product Market Competition
6: A Panel Data Analysis of Corporate Governance Change
7: Robustness and Dynamic Modeling
8: Qualitative Analysis: Introduction to the Case Studies
9: The Case of Germany: From Blockholding to Corporate Governace Regime
10: The Case of Italy: Everything Changes, Everything Stays the Same
11: Conclusions
Roger M. Barker, Head of Corporate Governance, Institute of Directors