Journal Articles (Business & Management)

Permanent URI for this collectionhttp://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12280/224

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Browsing Journal Articles (Business & Management) by Author "Helliar, Christine"

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    Frameworks Underpinning Corporate Governance: Evidence on Ugandan Perceptions
    (Blackwell Publishing Ltd, 2009) Wanyama, Simeon; Burton, Bruce; Helliar, Christine
    Manuscript Type: Empirical Research Question/Issue: This paper sets out to investigate perceptions about corporate governance practices in the developing African nation of Uganda. The study employs interview and questionnaire analysis to examine the part played by a range of factors in supporting effective governance. Research Findings/Results: The findings suggest that pervasive corruption and weaknesses in underlying frameworks have hampered attempts to improve practice. The results indicate that the mere emergence of detailed governance codes in developing countries does not necessarily mean that de facto practices will improve. Theoretical Implications: The results suggest that corporate governance standards in developing countries may appear on paper to be broadly similar to those in developed countries. However, a widespread perception exists that Ugandan frameworks are not yet strong enough to support what might normally be considered to be “good” practice. Sound corporate governance is seen as being a multi-faceted notion, with a range of political and social frameworks requiring strengthening before meaningful improvements can be made. Practical Implications: The evidence indicates that attempts to improve governance standards in a particular nation require more than the simple publication of codes of best practice. Root and branch changes in a wide-range of contextual factors, including at political and cultural levels, are required to provide the conditions in which meaningful improvements in corporate governance will occur.
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    Stakeholders, accountability and the theory-practice gap in developing nations’ corporate governance systems: evidence from Uganda
    (Emerald Group Publishing Limited, 2013) Wanyama, Simeon; Burton, Bruce; Helliar, Christine
    Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine perceptions about the nature and role of corporate governance in Uganda, with the emphasis on accountability within a stakeholder framework. Design/methodology/approach – The study employs interviews and questionnaires to gauge the views of key players in Uganda about the way the nation’s firms are governed, in the context of the stakeholder notion and the need for corporate accountability. Findings – The results suggest that the research participants take a broad view of the corporate governance concept, with recognition of a wide range of stakeholders evident. However, issues relating to corruption and the de-facto legal framework mean that practices depart markedly from any reasonable understanding of what might represent ‘‘best-practice’’. Practical implications – The results suggest that there is a gap between the theory and practice of corporate governance in Uganda, and regulators need to address this issue and deal with the endemic corruption and extant legal weaknesses that have given rise to this situation. Originality/value – This is one of the first studies to explicitly examine perceptions about governance standards within an accountability framework in a developing nation. Keywords Uganda, Corporate governance, Accountability, Stakeholder analysis, Corruption, Developing countries