PROF. MARC GOERGEN ON CORPORATE GOVERNANCE

I use my research to analyze how the levels of trust in a society impact shareholder voting.  Trust lies under all business relations. While contracts may tie us together and can be helpful in specifying the rights and obligations of signatories in specific situations, a contract can never really cover every eventuality. Thus, at the end of the day, there is trust – and it is necessary when entering into a contractual relationship with a new counterparty. Ultimately, trust enables strangers to work together and to produce goods and services. At the global level, high levels of trust may explain why some countries have been striving economically while others are stuck in what economists call a low-trust poverty trap. Please see here for details.

In my latest publication for the Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Business and Management , I define sustainable corporate governance  as follows: "Sustainable corporate governance is the set of arrangements that ensure that the firm focuses on maximizing long-term shareholder value, which goes hand in hand with the consideration of broader stakeholder interests in the firm’s decision-making. The focus on long-term shareholder value creation not only enhances the survival of the firm in the long run, but it also promotes the preservation of the firm’s ecosystem." I then review the literature on whether and how different types of shareholders promote sustainable corporate governance in their investee firms. Read more here . Source:   Goergen, M. (2022), ‘Governance through Ownership and Sustainable Corporate Governance’, in Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Business and Management , Oxford University Press, https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780190224851.013.370 .