Corporate Governance and the Financial Crisis: What Have We Missed?

Abstract

The need for efficient corporate governance mechanisms, to restore the public’s trust in U.S. financial markets, increased after the latest round of corporate fraud cases that wiped out $8 trillion from the US market. Proponents of efficient governance argue that current mechanisms need revamping. This study explores the role of corporate governance in regulating the US market and sets forth corporate governance improvement recommendations. These recommendations address the need for proactive corporate governance, using meta analysis to reconcile conflicting research findings, employing alternative theoretical underpinnings that go beyond agency theory, thinking blockchains, and developing an agenda for corporate governance convergence.

Keywords: corporate governance, financial crisis, blockchain, agency theory

JEL Classification: M14, M40, M41, M48