Institutional logics, blended and suspended

This paper examines how a new institution, a code of conduct, arises and develops over time. It shows how the process of debate airs competing logics, questions and fails to question assumptions taken for granted, and yet achieves a large degree of legitimacy without having resolved certain core issues. The UK code of corporate governance has been emulated around the world as a model of good practice. By examining in detail one aspect of the debate – the issue over unitary or two-tier boards – the paper shows how the contest of logics leads not just to new, blended or hybrid logics, but also to suspended logics. The process of consultation brings together actors from differing organizational fields and institutional orders, offering an opportunity to create a new field in a different order, with specific lessons for the practice of corporate governance and general lessons for institution-building

Reasonably good corporate governance

Attempts to determine what constitutes “good” corporate governance have become mired in the quicksand of the ethical conflict between duty and utility, virtue and rights, as well as the fight over for whose good the organization exists. This paper takes a different tack. Drawing upon evidence from the efforts to build and develop the UK code of corporate governance, it argues that the nature of “good” is intractable, but that in the practical world a philosophically pragmatic approach applies, exemplified in the preference for a comply-or-explain approach rather than more formal modes of regulation. Using Toulmin’s (2001) of advocacy the reasonable, in opposition to the rational, it argues that “reasonably good” governance is the best that can be expected, given the contingent nature of organizational life and strategies and the uncertain and potentially fungible benefits of various mechanisms of corporate governance

Governance of the governing

Developments in the governance practices in UK public organizations show how ideas from the governance of listed companies have translated into public sectors bodies, government departments and the governance of parliament itself. The use of independent, non-executives directors in public bodies encapsulates the tension in the private sector between the service role of directors and how they control the executives who manage the business. This paper gives a preliminary examination of three public bodies, comparing how reform of their governance mechanisms has affected tensions in accountability and director motivation. What is evident is that the changes involve greater emphasis on extrinsic goals, potentially at the cost of the intrinsic ones that characterize public service motivation. These tensions seem inevitable, and the challenge for board is to maintain a balance

Call and response: Identity and witness in legitimating CSR

How do social actors adopt a path alien to their organizational environment and, against the odds, get that environment to accommodate them? This developmental paper sketches an approach to answering that question, building on evidence from a series of conferences of themes related to corporate social responsibility. We see these events as facilitating construction of an identity that shields the participants from backlash in a less than accommodating institutional setting. Drawing on the concept of witness in religious practice, it suggests that a purpose of the events is the ritual enactment of practices that reinforce that identity, providing protection against hostility in the work environment. This version of the paper concludes with indications of the direction of the development and a request for suggestion

Governing the governance of the governors: Motivating accountability at the top of public organizations

Purpose – The purpose of this “viewpoint” is to consider developments in the governance practices in UK public organizations, showing how ideas from the governance of listed companies have translated into public bodies. Design/methodology/approach – It discusses the literature of corporate governance and public service motivation and reflects it against practice evidenced in documentation for the UK Corporate Governance Code, codes for boards of different levels of public organizations, and both formal and informal evaluations of practice. Findings – The use of independent, non-executives directors in public bodies encapsulates the tension in the private sector between the service role of directors and how they control managers. The paper gives a preliminary investigation of three public bodies, comparing how reform of their governance has affected tensions in accountability and director motivation. The changes involve greater emphasis on extrinsic goals, potentially at the cost of the intrinsic ones. Research limitations/implications – The paper suggests avenues for future research, linking notions of the tensions between the service and control functions in corporate governance with the balance between extrinsic and intrinsic motivation. Practical implications – Directors in both public and private bodies face a need to hold at bay forces that push in opposing directions to accommodate demands for greater accountability while sustaining the altruism social mindedness. Originality/value – The area of public sector boards is undergoing considerable change in the UK and this paper, although preliminary, is one of the few to examine the links to motivation

Becoming or unbecoming: Contested academic identities

For some decades now, higher education has been undergoing considerable change, driven to a great extent by the marketisation of knowledge, vocationalism, managerialism and state intervention (Barnett 2000). Despite the duration of the changes it is perhaps surprising that the old problems of identity-conflict among academics have persisted, and even new academics are confronted by the old issues. This paper examines the literature of identity, including particularly its professional and organisational dimensions, before looking in detail at academic writing exploring academic identity itself. Having found the dimensions of the problem, it then suggests a number of avenues for research, which can help inform the decisions of individual academics, guide policy in higher education, and give direction to inquiries about other professions as well

Short-termism, ownership and implications for investor stewardship

Institutional investors play a central role in corporate finance and ownership. But their direct role in corporate governance has received only limited attention, focused mainly on shareholder activism, with its focus on strategic change and rapid improvement in corporate performance. Following the financial crisis, however, policy has sought ways to counteract the perceived short-termism in equity markets. It has cast a spotlight on the role of investors, not least in the UK, with its Stewardship Code (introduced in 2010 and revised in 2012) and in related moves in a number of European countries and by the European Union. In the US too, policy has paid special attention to questions of proxy access and enhancing shareholder rights to voice. They share a concern to evoke the spirit of the ‘universal owner’, interested in both the long term and in the broad development of the economy as a whole. This paper examines developments in the policy against the backdrop of changing practices and structures, raising doubts about the premises of the policy direction and discussing the promises and drawbacks alternatives within other forms of ownership