Corporate Governance Mechanisms Throughout the World

摘要

There are a wide variety of governance mechanisms used throughout the world. Previous literature has suggested that economies vary in terms of their emphasis on formal rules versus informal relationships (Li & Samsell, 2009), but this begs the question as to what rules and what relations guide governance activities. In Anglo-American economies, for example, the primary governance mechanism is the equity market (Saberwal & Smith, 2008). In Western European and some Asian economies, however, the primary governance mechanism is relatively concentrated ownership patterns via pyramidal ownership structures (Levy, 2009). However, Scandanavian economies appear to rely on social norms and expectations to a great extent (Stafsudd, 2009). In transition economies, like China, the primary governance mechanism is the state and informal networks (Shen & Lin, 2009). In India, business groups provide accountability, especially in the larger firms (Zattoni, Pedersen, & Kumar, 2009). Notably, Islamic nations primarily rely on Sharia law to curb and guide business decisions (Safieddine, 2009).