Stakeholders, accountability and the theory-practice gap in developing nations’ corporate governance systems: evidence from Uganda

Abstract

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