Call for Papers and Proposals 5th Annual ICGS Conference

‘Corporate Governance in Changing Institutional Environments’

The 5th annual conference of the International Corporate Governance Society (www.icgsociety.org) will take place on Friday, October 11th to Sunday, October 13th in 2019 at the University of Essex (Colchester, United Kingdom). The conference is intended to provide a forum for international academics and policy-makers to showcase and discuss the latest corporate governance research.

Recent studies suggest that corporate governance and sustainable value creation are subject to unprecedented challenges as political dynamics are changing in the global marketplace, with growing geopolitical tensions and new socio-economic risks. Anticipating long-term trends is becoming increasingly challenging for investors, companies and boards that need to form their expectations and plan their strategies under uncertain economic and political conditions. How will the governance of companies across the globe adapt to the prevailing political agenda? What behaviour should investors and markets expect and encourage? Against this background, the theme of this year’s conference is “Corporate Governance in Changing Institutional Environments.” Specifically, it focuses on the challenges that institutional factors and political events pose for the development of effective and sustainable corporate governance systems. The topics of particular interest include, but are not limited to, the following areas which can be explored in a single or cross-country analysis:

• Role of legal and political institutions in shaping corporate governance systems

• Corporate governance and culture

• Sustainable corporate governance

• Regulation and corporate governance

• Boards and governance

• Strategy, contracting and governance

• Gender, diversity and governance

• Executive compensation

• Role of institutional and alternative investors in corporate governance

• Corporate governance in banks and other financial intermediaries

• Corporate governance outcomes: financial and non-financial

Since the overarching mission of the ICGS is to integrate international governance scholars from multiple disciplines, original research on all areas of corporate governance is welcome. Submissions must build upon previously unpublished and not-yet-presented original research. We solicit either original research papers or proposals that will advance the field of corporate governance. A full paper should be approximately 30-40 doubled-spaced pages. A proposal submission should include the following sections: (1) Abstract: 200 to 300 word description that summarizes the overall study; (2) Proposal: Narrative description of your conceptual or empirical study; (3) Supporting material: Tables, figures, and references that support the proposal. Overall, the proposal should not exceed 10 single-spaced pages in length or 3,000 words. Papers or proposals can be submitted starting on February 1, 2019 and must be submitted by 12 midnight (EST) on April 1, 2019 in order to be considered for conference presentation. 

All submissions must be done through our online conference management system, which is accessed through the ‘Conferences’ tab of the ICGS website (www.icgsociety.org).

Decisions on submissions regarding their inclusion in the conference program will be provided by May 18, 2019. The very best papers and proposals will be invited to submit a final version completed research paper of approximately 30-40 double-spaced pages by July 15, 2019 in order to be considered for the best conference paper award. The author(s) who win(s) this award will be recognized at the conference and receive a $1,500 check provided by the Harold S. Geneen Institute of Corporate Governance. The runner-up best paper will receive a prize of $500.

CONFERENCE TRACKS. On the title page of each proposal, the author(s) should indicate which of the following six tracks in the program best fits the submission. The Track Chairs may shift your proposal if it is evaluated to better fit another track:

TRACK A: Corporate Governance in Changing Institutional Environments. Changes in institutional conditions have posed new challenges for corporate governance and sustainability. This track explores the rapidly evolving political channel, as well as the role that rule setters and cultural factors play, in determining corporate governance arrangements and objectives. Chair: Professor Sofia Johan (Florida Atlantic University).

TRACK B: Boards. In this track, we explore the roles of boards of directors concentrating in particular on diversity and the compensation structures both in financial and non-financial companies. Studies that examine the role of women are particularly welcome. The track will also feature international differences in board practices, as well as the causes and consequences of well-functioning boards. Chair: Professor Thankom Arun and Professor Musa Mangena (University of Essex).

TRACK C: Ownership. This track explores the antecedents and outcomes of different types of owners. The track also encourages papers on non-traditional means of raising capital that give rise to ownership changes, such as equity crowdfunding and other forms of alternative investment, and their implications for corporate governance. Diversity in contracting practices, regulatory considerations and risks are potentially interesting topics. Studies examining the effects on women and minorities are encouraged. Chair: Professor Jerry Coakley and Professor Tazeeb Rajwani (University of Essex).

TRACK D: External Corporate Governance Mechanisms. This track seeks to understand how companies’ strategic objectives and outcomes are influenced by external governance mechanisms, including but not limited to the role of external auditors, cultural norms, and media. It also welcomes studies that investigate how these external factors are related to the firms’ nexus of contracts and incentive structures. Chair: Professor Niels Hermes (University of Groningen).

TRACK E: Self-Governance. Corporations often choose socially-responsible policies, and managers have differing levels of ethical concerns. The associated corporate governance outcomes can be financial and non-financial, and differ in the short vs. long-term. Outcomes can include performance, profitability and value creation, and societal changes. Studies focusing on the challenges of achieving a sound and sustainable value creation in the current global environmental and social dynamics will be particularly welcome for this track. Chair: Professor Hisham Farag (University of Birmingham).

TRACK F: Financial Institutions and Corporate Governance. Banks and other financial institutions have been in the spotlight in recent years not just for their role in the crisis but also for scandals and other episodes of misconduct that resulted in heavy sanctions for some large banking firms. This track welcomes submission in any area of bank corporate governance with a particular focus on equity culture in banking, risk and gender. Chair: Professor Barbara Casu-Lukac (Cass Business School, London).

Conference program co-chairs:

Professor Claudia Girardone, University of Essex, UK; Professor Geoffrey Wood, University of Essex, UK

Doctoral Consortium Co-ordinator:

Dr Silvia Gaia, University of Essex, UK