Corporate Governance, Accountability and Mechanisms of Accountability: An Overview

By Niamh M. Brennan, J. Solomon. 2008

560 citations recorded by the source corpus.

Purpose – This paper reviews traditional corporate governance and accountability research, to suggest opportunities for future research in this field. The first part adopts an analytical frame of reference based on theory, accountability mechanisms, methodology, business sector/context, globalisation and time horizon. The second part of the paper locates the seven papers in the special issue in a framework of analysis showing how each one contributes to the field. The paper presents a frame of reference which may be used as a 'roadmap' for researchers to navigate their way through the prior literature and to position their work on the frontiers of corporate governance research. Design/methodology/approach – The paper employs an analytical framework, and is primarily discursive and conceptual. Findings – The paper encourages broader approaches to corporate governance and accountability research beyond the traditional and primarily quantitative approaches of prior research. Broader theoretical perspectives, methodological approaches, accountability mechanism, sectors/contexts, globalisation and time horizons are identified. Research limitations/implications – Greater use of qualitative research methods are suggested, which present challenges particularly of access to the “black box” of corporate boardrooms. Originality/value – Drawing on the analytical framework, and the papers in the special issue, the paper identifies opportunities for further research of accountability and corporate governance.

Subfields: Accounting, Management Information Systems

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/51fa591ee8173787a22be96351ad19ae9f258c72

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Citations in the corpus

Is Environmental Governance Substantive or Symbolic? An Empirical Investigation (2012, background): “In that regard, it is argued that research on environmental governance mechanisms has been neglected (Berrone and Gomez-Mejia 2009; Brennan and Solomon 2008; Kassinis and Vafeas 2002).”
Changes in social and environmental reporting practices in an emerging economy (2004–2007): Exploring the relevance of stakeholder and legitimacy theories (2011, background): “Hence, the findings from Mauritius are potentially of relevance to other emerging economies that have adopted corporate governance codes with similar stakeholder accountability implications (Brennan & Solomon, 2008).”
The influence of board characteristics on sustainability reporting Empirical evidence from Sri Lankan firms (2014, background): “Agency theory, the dominant theoretical framework in corporate governance literature suggests that the monitoring role of boards influence firms to disclose information to reduce agency cost and information asymmetry (Brennan and Solomon, 2008; Hillman and Dalziel, 2003; Hendry, 2005; Dalton et al.,”
The effect of DEFRA guidance on greenhouse gas (2014, unknown): “Indeed, according to Hill and Jones' (1992) proposition of stakeholder-agency theory, the board of directors is tasked to control an organisation's sustainable behaviour and to ensure that the ﬁ rm is accountable to various stakeholders (see Brennan & Solomon, 2008, for further discussion on this).”
Rana Plaza collapse aftermath: Are CSR compliance and auditing pressures effective? (2016, background): “Furthermore, Brennan and Solomon (2008) advocate a broader sectoral analysis, the consideration of a wider range of accountability mechanisms, and a greater focus on developing economies.”
The digital transformation of external audit and its impact on corporate governance (2020, background): “Agency and stakeholder's theories remain the most widely used theories in the literature in this area (Brennan and Solomon, 2008) explaining the need for audit services.”
Corporate Boards and Ownership Structure as Antecedents of Corporate Governance Disclosure in Saudi Arabian Publicly Listed Corporations (2018, background): “Keywords: corporate governance, board and ownership structures, voluntary disclosure regime, multitheory, Saudi Arabia”
Women on the boards of listed companies: Evidence from Finland (2010, background): “There has been a growing interest in gender issues within corporate governance research (Brennan 2006; Brennan and Solomon 2008; Collier 2008; Farrell and Hersch 2005; Huse et al. 2009; Sealy and Singh 2006; Terjesen and Singh 2008).”
Board reputation attributes and corporate social performance: an empirical investigation of the US Best Corporate Citizens (2011, background): “Indeed, various authors advocate a broadening of the corporate governance agenda to encompass a stakeholder and legitimacy perspective (Tirole 2001, Huse 2003, OECD 2004, Webb 2004, Aguilera et al. 2006, Deakin and Whittaker 2007, Brennan and Solomon 2008).”
Accountability and corporate governance of public private partnerships (2012, background): “PPPs Accountability Corporate governance Future research agenda a b s t r a c t Brennan and Solomon (2008) identify six new frontiers in accountability and corporate governance research to stimulate research.”