I recently did a review of studies published between 2008 and 2018 that explored independent directors who sit on the boards of for-profit corporations. I am going to discuss what I learned from these studies and highlight three key takeaways on director independence. What is an independent director? An independent director is “free from conflicts …
I am discovering the work of Iris Marion Young, a philosopher and political scientist who wrote much about justice. I find her work relevant to think about corporations and their responsibility, because she discusses the notion of personal responsibility, which refers to what each individual is responsible for, and social structures, which designate the opportunity …
CSR, or Corporate Social Responsibility, is often viewed as an obvious, readily understood, homogenous concept. Yet a close look at CSR research challenges this view. Researchers have proposed a plethora of definitions for CSR, with each definition assigning a particular meaning to CSR. Orlitzky et al. (2011) speak of the “inconsistencies and debates regarding the proper …
In March 2015, eBAY announced a policy for gender and race diversity on its board of directors; hencefort, it will actively search for women and minorities when recruiting directors. This policy is news at eBAY, whose boardroom has traditionally been homogenous. Last year, for example, eBAY’s board counted 10 men and 1 woman. In 2015, …
Arnaud Montebourg, the minister in charge of all things corporate in France (officially, le ministère du redressement productif), seems much in favour of … all things French. Companies are encouraged to stay in France, to produce locally, to hire locally. Recently, Mr Montebourg questioned the transaction between the French Alstom, which invented the TGV decades …
Since I moved to France, I have heard much about la crise. Newspapers abound with articles and editorials on the topic, people mention it during lunch break and discuss its more or less nefarious impact on their lives. When I was in a store in October to set up my local cell phone, I chatted with the …
I recently watched the documentary Blackfish. It tells the story of Tilikum, a star orca at Seaworld Orlando. Orcas, in spite of being called killer whales, are not known to have killed humans in the wild. Left to their own devices, orcas roam the oceans where they cover daily distances large enough to put the …
Earlier this year, I wrote about how locavores may end up encouraging local firms to persist in doing what they are not great at doing. Yet such persistence is not necessary. In today’s interconnected environment, local firms can focus on doing what they are good at and leave the rest for others. A local firm does …
A few weeks ago, a friend contacted me with a business conundrum. His company was looking for help with a web-related issue. A foreign firm had provided an original and cost-effective plan for solving the issue. Domestic companies too had submitted solutions which were less original and cost-effective than that of Foreign Firm. My friend …
I am visiting family in Luxembourg. The news here closely follows ArcelorMittal, the international steel giant. The local media interest dates back to 2002 when Arcelor was born from the merger of Luxembourg’s ARBED with the Spanish Aceralia and the French Usinor. In 2007, Arcelor was acquired by the Indian Mittal. ArcelorMittal is headquartered in …
Elections are upon us in Québec, with all the ensuing brouhaha and commotion. After having lived here for a few years, I have sprouted an interest in Québec, and Canadian, politics. This in spite of the fact that I cannot vote, since I am not (yet) a Canadian citizen. But then again, I am told …
If only we knew. Alas, an answer is difficult to come by, as the recent executive pay controversy at the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) illustrates. In January 2012, the CEO of RBS, Mr Stephen Hester, voluntarily renounced being paid 3.6 million shares of RBS, worth about one million pound at the time. Mr Hester’s …
Mr Burgess, author of A Clockwork Orange, writes about the power of the state to shape individual behavior in a recent New Yorker article. He worries that politicians can promote wrong policies for wrong reasons, which feature most prominently their desire for power, and cautions that “We probably have no duty to like Beethoven or hate …