Call for Proposals
Restoring Trust in Business through Corporate Governance
Inaugural ICGS Conference
18./19.9.2015; Copenhagen Business School
In our information-based economy, the reputation of a business is essential to its success and survival. The trust of investors, consumers, employees, and the general public as well as regulators can have a direct and profound effect on a company’s bottom line and even its viability. Recently, the importance of reputation has become apparent, as companies such as JP Morgan, BP, and Toyota have had to manage their responses to crises in order to maintain or resurrect the reputation of their companies to their stakeholders. Notably, the Pew Research Center recently reported that 78% of Americans believe “too much power is concentrated in the hands of too few corporations.” This perception is not unique to the United States, as discussed by Colin Mayer in his new book entitled, Firm Commitment. Notably, Professor Mayer will be one of the featured keynote speakers at the conference.
The corporate governance system has a major influence on the public’s view of the trustworthiness of business. Each corporate governance system is composed of corporate governance mechanisms that are both external and internal to the firm’s boundaries. Because most external corporate governance mechanisms are regional or national in scope, multinational firms increasingly must deal with transnational corporate governance pressures, which are often not well integrated and conflicting.
The International Corporate Governance Society will focus its inaugural conference on how corporate governance systems work to enhance trust in business, and deepen our understanding of how failures in corporate governance systems degrade trust in business. Due to our inter-disciplinary nature, we think of corporate governance in broad terms – those systems and mechanisms designed to channel corporate power for the well-being of society. As such, corporate social responsibility initiatives and the cultivation of ethical practices fit within our conceptualization of corporate governance as they can be labeled “self-governance” mechanisms.
Research proposal that advances our understanding of the antecedents and outcomes of corporate governance systems and practices are welcome.
Deadline (research proposals): 30.3.2015