Drawing on detailed empirical research in the UK, in this article I explore the motivations that lie behind the formation of social economy organisations (SEOs) and the multiple trajectories that these can then follow and the tensions to which this can give rise as the ‘social' runs up against...

The agency problem at the core of corporate law stems from a chronic potential conflict of interest between directors' self-interest and that of shareholders. Corporate law views directors' self-interest in terms of diverting welfare to directors at the expense of shareholders. Another component...

Purpose - This paper seeks to provide insights into the current global financial crisis from an institutional theory perspective.Design/methodology/approach - The paper presents the development of key concepts using institutional theory, grounded in a discussion of the context of the current...

Fraud and irrationality are often blamed for financial manias and panics. Investor euphoria can unleash social and technological breakthroughs, but the subsequent failures can destroy value and radicalize the political sphere. Are these events random, idiosyncratic, or driven by some force? The...

We use the enactment of limited liability legislation across Canadian provinces to examine the effect of the change in liability status on firm outcomes for a group of Canadian public firms known as income trusts. We show that the switch from unlimited to limited liability increases the trusts'...

The paper suggests a partial solution to the disjunction between the institutional environment and the institutions of governance by considering the budget constraint. This approach is put in the perspective of the comparative analysis of economic organizations as discrete structural...

How can we determine when an existing institutional path or trajectory is ending and being replaced with a new one? How does such a process take place? How can we distinguish between institutional innovation within an existing trajectory and a switchover to a new trajectory or path? This paper...

The paper is divided in two coordinate parts. The first considers in general the issue of stockholders vs. stakeholders oriented governance systems and their relative merits and demerits. The second part deals specifically with the issue of the principal-agent problem in a stakeholder context

This paper, based on a study of mid-sized firms in the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Poland, seeks to explain the reasons behind the marked impact of ownership on firm performance which has been observed in a number of studies in Eastern Europe and other parts of the world. Focusing in particular...

This paper analyses the role of the convergence of national corporate governance codes affecting listed public limited companies within the EU member states. It assesses this process against the need for protection of stakeholders and public interests. The first chapter looks to company...