The Relationship Between Ownership Types and Corporate Governance
and Disclosure Practices of Firms Listed on Indian Stock Exchange

--Pankaj M Madhani

Corporate governance is an institutional arrangement that not only addresses the agency problem between shareholders and managers of the firm, but also provides the context for the decisions taken by the top management of the firm. In this context, the main question is whether ownership types influence corporate governance practices of firms. This research empirically studies corporate governance and disclosure practices of firms segregated according to types of ownership, i.e., foreign firms, private sector firms and public sector firms. Such firms are diverse entities with different management philosophy, responsibility and structure. This research focuses on firms across various sectors listed on Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) and seeks to identify whether corporate governance and disclosure practices of foreign firms, private sector and public sector firms are significantly different. The research also emphasizes the salient features of firms according to ownership types. The findings shed light on the governance and disclosure practices of firms segregated according to ownership types in the legal and institutional environment of India.

© 2016 IUP. All Rights Reserved.

The Nature of Corporate Board Structure and Its Impact on the Performance of USA Listed Firms

--Shweta Mehrotra

This study seeks to examine board structure and its relationship and impact on the listed companies’ performance in USA. A cross-sectional and correlational research design with a sample of 100 listed companies in USA was used. Correlation analysis was carried out to establish the relationship between the variables. Multiple regression analyses were used to determine the extent to which variations in performance of companies are explained by the board structures. The findings portrayed that high frequency of meetings adversely affects the company performance, whereas combined board leadership structure positively contributes to company performance which is contrary to the agency theory expectations. Other than that, it can be concluded that financial performance is independent of board size and composition. It is highly recommended that future research should be focused on nonfinancial aspects of performance in order to get a holistic performance view rather than restricting to accounting-based performance, which is based on accounting principles and assumptions since this provides evidence for future success through overall stakeholder satisfaction. Furthermore, an intense understanding of corporate governance structures and their relations with company performance has the potential to assist practitioners, both policy makers and researchers, to improve governance.

© 2016 IUP. All Rights Reserved.

An Empirical Study of the Extent of Ethical Business Practices in Selected Industries in India

--Puneeta Goel and R S Ramesh

Ethics refers to moral demands regarding the business and is based on a theory of the relationship between business and society. Ethics is a good business investment that generates trust and confidence between the parties and in turn guarantees long-term performance. Corporate identity is formed in the way a company manages the stakeholder claims through its values and actions. This paper attempts to define different nonfinancial parameters of ethical identity based on corporate governance, corporate social responsibility and sustainability and measure the extent of ethical practices followed in selected companies based on these parameters. Using Kruskal Wallis analysis, it was found that there is a significant difference between different industries in following and reporting ethical practices in India.

© 2016 IUP. All Rights Reserved.