A Study of Impact of Corporate Governance Practices on Firm Performance in Indian, Japanese and South Korean Companies

Abstract

Corporate Governance exists today at a complex intersection of law, morality, and economic efficiency. Governance issue arises whenever a corporate entity acquires a life of its own and the ownership of the enterprise is separated from the management. Corporate Governance is needed to create a corporate culture of consciousness, transparency and openness. It enables a company to maximize the long term value of the company which is seen in terms of performance of the company.

In this context, an attempt is made in this paper to study various Corporate Governance practices followed by companies in India, Japan and South Korea. A sample of five multinational companies from each country is studied based on the Corporate Governance practices that are being followed by them. This will include parameters like Board Constitution, Board Structure, Different Committees, Independent Directors and their roles, Conflict of interest and Disclosure of information. The objective is to determine if there is a relationship between corporate governance and firm performance. The study will check whether higher and better corporate governance scores lead to better performance of the companies. It is found in the study that corporate governance practices have limited impact on both the share prices of the companies as well as on their financial performance.

Keywords: Corporate Governance, Disclosure Parameters, India, Japan, South Korea

JEL Classification: G34, O16, O57