The paper adds to our knowledge of what non-executive directors do, knowledge which is still in its infancy. More specifically, it reports the findings of a survey among more than 250 Dutch non-executive directors regarding their roles and limitations. Although the majority agreed that...

Recent research among 2500 of the largest companies in The Netherlands reveals the growing importance of social and ethical issues in the corporate governance debate. Such issues can place non-executive directors in a dilemma when his1 point of view is neither shared by the management board nor...

This article examines the overall acceptance of the best practice provisions contained in the Dutch corporate governance code and identifies those that receive comparably less agreement among 150 Dutch listed companies in 2004. The findings indicate a high level of compliance with the Code....

The comply-or-explain principle is a common feature of corporate governance codes. While prior studies investigated compliance with corporate governance codes as well as the effects of compliance on firm behaviour and performance, explanations for deviations from a corporate governance code...

Previous studies suggest that letters to the shareholders are widely used in investors' decision-making processes. Letters to the shareholders, however, are unaudited and usually not subject to regulation. Hence, CEOs may use them strategically to manage the impressions shareholders have of the...