4th INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON

BUSINESS, ECONOMICS, MANAGEMENT AND MARKETING

JUNE 26-28, 2006

ATHENS, GREECE

 

Spesial Track: 'Corporate Governance Developments”

 

Guest Editor: Dr Dimitrios N. Koufopoulos BSc, MBA,PhD, MCMI, FIMC

Koufopoulosdn@yahoo.com

Dimitrios.Koufopoulos@brunel.ac.uk

 

Buzzwords at the corridors, meetings, conferences and roundtables at the World Bank, the IMF and the OECD are --"disclosure," "transparency" "shareholder value" and or “corporate governance.  Improvement in corporate governance standards is considered as critical in helping emerging markets rebuild competitiveness, restore investor confidence, and promote sustainable economic growth.

The World Bank and the IMF are implementing governance reform in those still-ailing markets, and they are developing policies to stem the possibility of future financial crises in other countries.

 

The Asian financial crisis and numerous corporate collapses and scandals including Enron and Worlscom and more recently Parmalat and Shell have served increased interest in corporate governance and have led institutional investors to attach the well deserved attention to corporate governance. It has been realised that corporate managers may lacked the incentive to adhere to sound management practices and this has resulted to poor corporate governance mechanisms that unavoidably contributed to this crisis.

At its most basic level, corporate governance deals with issues that result from the separation of ownership and control.  But corporate governance goes beyond simply establishing a transparent and responsible relationship between managers and owners.  The presence of strong corporate governance standards provides increased access to capital and thereby aids economic development.  Good corporate governance attracts investors by assuring them that the business environment is fair and transparent; that companies can be held accountable for their actions or lack thereof; and those investments can be protected and contracts enforced.   

The conference encourages the submission of papers on the effectiveness of governance mechanisms and also papers which focus on in-depth understanding of corporate boards and other governance mechanisms.

Institutional investors are being urged to be more active in the companies in which they invest. As the same time, company directors often feel that they are weightened down by the demands that the new coprorate governance codes and legislations place on them.

 

However “good” corporate governance coupled with more accounatbility and transparency increases investor confidence, and so is essential for the well-being of both developed and developing countries.

 

Given the important role that corporate governance plays, there continues to be a lively, and growing, interest in corporate governance by governments, investors and directors alike - as well, of course, as corporate governance practitioners and academics who research the area.

 

We were therefore delighted to welcome to the conference delegates from many countries across the globe, including the EU countries, Eastern European Countries, USA, Asia and Middle-East countries.

 

This conference will appeal to academics, policy makers and business/industry professionals. The conference will provide a forum in which delegates can interact and network, with the topic areas being at the forefront of corporate governance developments in an international context.

 

We invite papers that explore Corporate Governace Issues from both theoretical and paractical perspectives.

 

Topics of interest include the following (the list is only indicative):

1)    Board of directors

2)    Board committees

3)    Evaluation of Directors and Boards

4)    Executive remuneration

5)    Socially responsible investments

6)    Corporate governance ratings

7)    Recent developments in corporate governance codes

8)    International comparisons of corporate governance systems

9)    Corporate governance and firm value for IPOs

10) Managerial entrenchment and expropriation and their effect on control mechanisms

11) Non-Executive directors’ role, and performance incentives in corporate governance

12) Financial sector and corporate governance

13) How do corporate governance structures affect corporate strategy?

14) Best and worst cases of corporate governance in different countries

15) Strategic direction at the board level

16)  Nomination, feedback, remuneration and development of supervisor and executive board members (board management dimension)

17) Strategic control and risk management at board level (controlling dimension)

18) Boards and Decisions Making

19) Study’s of Chairmans and their contibition to the firm’s performamnce

20) Corporate governance in the public sector

 

SUBMISSION AND REVIEW PROCEDURES

You are invited to submit a 300-word summary of your paper for review. Please send it as an attached file in Word 2003 to of the Track Chair via email only (atiner@atiner.gr) Each submission should include: title page (separate) with name, affiliation, phone, fax, and email of each author.

 

Submissions must be RECEIVED by March 27th, 2006. A double-blind review process will evaluate all submissions. Papers should not have been presented or published elsewhere prior to the conference.

 

PUBLICATIONS

Selected papers will be included in the Proceedings. Furhermore selectcted papers will be offered a  fast track review for publication (within 2007) in on of the following reputable. academic journals:

ü   Corporate Ownership and Control 

      And/or

ü   Corporate Board: roles, duties and composition