PROF. MARC GOERGEN ON CORPORATE GOVERNANCE

Philosophy of the Book Existing textbooks on corporate governance tend to have a strong focus on UK and/or US corporate governance. This focus is somewhat surprising as the UK and US corporate governance systems have features which clearly set them apart from pretty much the rest of the world. Indeed, the typical British and American stock-market listed firm is widely held (held by many shareholders) and control therefore lies with the management rather than the shareholders. In contrast, most stock-exchange listed firms from the rest of the world have a large shareholder whose control is substantial enough to have a significant influence over the firm’s affairs. Given these marked differences in ownership and control, corporate governance issues emerging in non-UK and non-US firms tend to be very different from those that may affect British and American companies. Hence, it is important for a textbook to bear in mind the diversity of ownership and control a

Why would female directors be more likely to promote the use of renewable energy than their male peers? What evidence is there that women care more about ethics and corporate social responsibility (CSR) than men? Marc Goergen, Finance Professor at IE Business School, answers these questions and elaborates on why women are key in the move towards a more sustainable society. Read more.

In what follows, I and my co-authors respond to criticism voiced by the British Private Equity and Venture Capital Association (BVCA) about a study we conducted. The original BVCA press release can be found here . A new paper by Geoffrey Wood of Warwick Business School, Marc Goergen of Cardiff University and Noel O'Sullivan of Loughborough University - 'The Employment Consequences of Private Equity Acquisitions: The Case Of Institutional Buy Outs' - looks at the changes to employment and productivity in companies that have been the subject of institutional buyouts (IBOs) compared to matched companies that did not receive such a buyout. The paper looks at an initial total of 106 IBOs undertaken over the period 1997 to 2006. This is in the context of 2,200 management buyouts (MBOs) and 500 management buy-ins (MBIs) [1] taking place in the UK over the same time period. As it makes explicit, the study focuses "exclusively on the employment consequences of institutiona

Firms hold cash for several reasons, e.g., to seize strategic opportunities as they arise or as a buffer against unexpected shocks. While research has focused on the question as to how much cash a firm should hold, it has mostly ignored how quickly firms move back to their optimal or target cash holdings level once they have been pushed away from that level. Read more here .

A visual story about corporate control across the world. This visual story is loosely based on chapters 1 to 3 of my textbook entitled Corporate Governance. A Global Perspective .

A commentary in the Fortune Magazine mentions my research on how female directors influence dividend policy. The study itself can be downloaded for free from the Journal of Corporate Finance . The commentary can be found here .