Projects
- Seminar in Accountability and the performance of board members – in cooperation with the Open University at Reykjavík University.
- Review of the Iceland Guidelines on Corporate Governance in collaboration with the Icelandic Chamber of Commerce, SA – Business Iceland and Nasdaq OMX Iceland.
A successful seminar for Reykjavik University's Centre for Corporate Governance, March 10, 2017
At the seminar, Professor Sven Erik Sjöstrand at Stockholm School of Economics presented research findings published in a book on Nordic corporate governance. The book describes how corporate governance takes place in practice in large Nordic companies. The empirical results and conclusions are based on an extensive in-depth study of 36 mid- and large cap corporations involving some 250 owners, board members (including Chairs), and CEOs.
Three major conclusions can be drawn from the rich material:
- Firstly, the authors show that a company's total ownership situation to a large extent determines how the governance process is organized and executed. The ownership dimension that matters most is its structure (concentrated or fragmented shareholding). However, whether a corporation is owned privately or by the state also matters, as does the personality of the controlling/main owner (e.g., risk seeker or risk averse) and the owner's personal involvement in the operational and financial flows (i.e., contribution to the different corporate bodies). All those governance qualities are crucial in the Nordic environment, where most corporations tend to have controlling/main shareholders.
- Secondly, it is obvious that each corporation has the opportunity to ‘tailor' its own governance process and that the owners actually also use that possibility. Such an option exists because the Nordic company laws allow considerable degrees of freedom in terms of interpretation, and the complementary soft regulations are not binding.
- Thirdly, the empirical material in this extensive study lends support to the notion that what is really decisive for how the different corporations develop over time is how ownership control is captured, organized and executed. Thus, of particular importance is which owners control a company and how they act, that is, what ideas, competences, time horizons and ways of thinking dominate the governance process.
Over 60 Icelandic industry people participated in the seminar, which was sponsored by LOGOS, Stefnir and Deloitte.
The 9th Annual Noridc Corporate Governance Workshop was held in Reykjavík June 7th - 9th, 2017. The workshop's theme was: NORTHERN IMPRESSIONS IN CORPORATE GOVERNANCE: SORTING ILLUSION FROM INSPIRATION.
All the workshop papers from law, economics,
finance, accounting, and management
on the topic of
corporate governance in general and manuscripts that concern the infirmities
and
advantages of the Nordic
model in particular. Areas of interest include, but are not limited to:
• Corporate governance
elements unique to the Nordic region
• The role of Nordic
corporate governance in a globalized world
• The role of the world
in Nordic corporate governance (international track)
• Ownership differences
and ownership forms
• Institutional
investors, hedge funds, and shareholder activism
• Accounting,
regulation, and safeguarding the cg environment
• Boards, management and
managerial incentives
• Political
perspectives, taxes, and the influence of the state on Nordic capitalism
• Informal governance
and reputational factors
About the Nordic Corporate Governance Network (NCGN)
NCGN is a network for Nordic researchers in corporate governance. It was founded in 2010 with the aim of contributing to a deeper international understanding of the Nordic corporate governance model. The Network arranges workshops and colloquia, promotes cooperation between Nordic researchers and aims to make research results more visible in the Nordic region and on an international arena. The network comprises 150 faculty members, predominantely from Nordic universities. To register in the network, please send e-mail to Therese Strand: ts.int@cbs.dk The network board 2018-19 comprises professor Minna Martikainen, Hanken School of Economics (minna.martikainen@hanken.fi), professor Karin Thorburn, Norwegian School of Economics (karin. thorburn@nhh.no), professor Bo Becker, Stockholm School of Economics, (bo.becker@hhs.se) and associate professor Throstur Olaf Sigurjonsson, Reykjavik University and Copenhagen Business School (throstur@ru.is and osi.int@cbs.dk).
