RESEARCH
Research in the relationships among corporate governance, regulation and politics includes a number of relevant and topical themes, including the politicization of the corporate environment, the evolving role of the state in business, the effects of political institutional structures on corporate regulation (EU) and the relationship among industrial structures, corporate ownership and corporate governance (Nordic CG Model).
Politics of Corporate Governance
There has been increasing pressure to hold corporations accountable for social and environmental aspects of the business enterprise - both by external interest groups and key stakeholders (including institutional shareholders). As the economic and political significance of corporations has increased, stakeholders pursue political agendas through the corporation using corporate governance mechanisms. ESG and the debate on corporate purpose can be best understood in terms of a political approach to corporate governance.
State Interests and Corporate Governance
State ownership and intervention in business is in revival with the changed geopolitical landscape. Where the role of governments was to facilitate international trade, business is now increasingly viewed through the prism of national strategic and security interests. New geopolitical demarcation lines are redefining the acceptable frameworks for businesses and their supply chains. We are witnessing a pivot from post Cold War neoliberalism and international free markets towards strategic capitalism.
EU Regulation
The significance of EU regulation has increased in the fields of corporate and securities regulation. The dynamics of EU regulation are different than those at the national level - which can be seen in the strong trend of corporate regulation focusing on the societal aspects of business enterprise, for example. Understanding the political dynamic of EU legislative processes, and of supranational regulatory systems in general, is more important then ever.
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Nordic Corporate Governance
There has been an increasing interest in Nordic models of corporate governance - they have been perceived to have an appropriate balance between shareholder primacy and stakeholder interests. Yet these models only reflect the political economy of their respective institutional environments - the models are supported by tax and social security systems and are vulnerable to capture by politically dominant interest groups. Nordic corporate governance must be understood and measured in the context of this environment.