Corporate governance and institutions—A review and research agenda

Abstract

Research Question/Issue Over the last decades, research on the relationship between national institutions, governance mechanisms, and firm outcomes has been increasing. This review aims at (i) analyzing extant research in this area, (ii) identifying influential current trends, and (iii) highlighting future avenues of research. Research Findings/Insights Using a content analysis of 165 articles published in top journals from accounting, finance, management, and organization disciplines, we explore research on institutions, corporate governance, and firm outcomes. Our results show that stronger national institutions aimed at protecting investors are mostly associated with better corporate governance and firm financial outcomes and that these relationships are moderated by some contingency factors. Theoretical/Academic Implications Our findings encourage scholars to further explore the relationship between national institutions, corporate governance, and firm outcomes by using theoretical frameworks and methods allowing them (i) to develop a “thicker” understanding of the national institutional context, (ii) to analyze powerful stakeholders' influence on the above relationships, and (iii) to better understand the role played by informal institutions. Practitioner/Policy Implications Our findings help policymakers and investors to (i) better understand how national institutions impact on both governance mechanisms and firm outcomes and (ii) develop policies or design governance mechanisms taking into consideration country‐, industry‐, and firm‐level contingencies.

Publishing corporate governance research during a pandemic

“…It offers several directions for future research that would prove invaluable to researchers working in this topic area. Zattoni et al (2020) analyze the literature on the relationship between national institutions and corporate governance mechanisms as well as its impact on firm outcomes. There is a vast and very important body of work in this research area spanning various disciplines, so it was necessary to have this interdisciplinary team of scholars tackle this topic.…”

Taking stock of corporate governance research and future research opportunities

“…Recent corporate governance research has increasingly addressed the interrelationships between national institutions, governance mechanisms, and firm outcomes. Zattoni et al (2020) therefore review the state of knowledge about the institutional embeddedness of corporate governance mechanisms and their consequences. The authors analyze 165 articles from top journals within the fields of accounting, finance, management, and organization.…”

“…Although research on the institutional embeddedness of corporate governance has risen, important research gaps remain. Zattoni et al (2020) recommend developing theoretical frameworks and utilizing methods that allow a more in‐depth understanding of the national institutional context and its complex interrelationship with corporate governance and firm‐level outcomes, analyzing the role of stakeholders and their influence on these relationships, and gaining more knowledge on the role of informal institutions.…”

“…Our present review issue 2020 contains six first-rate articles that cover a broad set of highly relevant subjects including the role of different types of owners with regard to board governance (Federo, Ponomareva, Aguilera, Saz-Carranza, & Losada, 2020), the position of the chair of the board of directors (Banerjee, Nordqvist, & Hellerstedt, 2020), idiosyncrasies of founder CEOs (Abebe, Li, Acharya, & Daspit, 2020), the relationship between board and top management team (TMT) characteristics and technological innovation (Kurzhals, Graf-Vlachy, & König, 2020), the institutional embeddedness of corporate governance (Zattoni, Dedoulis, Leventis, & Van Ees, 2020), as well as the relationship between different types of ownership and the propensity of tunneling (Solarino & Boyd, 2020). With one exception that employs meta-analysis (cf.…”

Firm innovation and ultimate control mechanism: Case of emerging market

“…Lion's share of literature exists on corporate governance and ownership structure (Victor Zitan Chen et al, 2014;Minetti et al, 2015;A. Naqvi, 2014;Solarino & Boyd, 2020;Zattoni et al, 2020), while the separation of ownership and control and its impact on corporate innovation have received less attention, especially in Pakistan. Our study augments novel evidence to this line of research on innovation and control mechanisms.…”