EXPLORING CORPORATE GOVERNANCE STRUCTURES AND PRACTICES IN JAMAICA: TOWARDS POLICY REFORM A Thesis submitted to The University of Manchester for the degree of Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) in the Faculty of Humanities 2010 Vindel Leroy Kerr Manchester Business School [1] I. TABLE OF CONTENTS II Content 2 II List of Figures 7 III List of Tables 7 IV List of Appendices 8 V Thesis Abstract 9 VI Declaration 10 VII Copyright Statement 10 VIII Acknowledgement 11 IX Preface 12 X The Author 13 XI List of Abbreviations 14 PART ONE: INTRODUCTION AND CONTEXTUAL ISSUES Chapter 1: The Importance of Corporate Governance and the Problem Statement 16 1.1 Introduction 16 1.2 Subject Contextual Background 22 1.3 The Importance of Corporate Governance and Why Now 24 1.4 The Problem Statement and Motivation of Study 28 1.4.1 Motivation of the Study 28 1.4.2 The Corporate Governance Problem in Jamaica 30 1.4.3 The Public Policy Problem in Jamaica 32 1.5 The Research Challenges and Triumphs 38 1.5.1 Availability of Data and Access to Respondents 38 1.5.2 Selection of Country 39 1.5.3 Anglo-Saxon Dominance and Empirical Gaps in Corporate Governance Research 40 1.6 Beneficial Implications of the Study 40 1.7 Organization of the Thesis 41 1.8 Chapter Summary 42 Chapter 2: The Contextual Setting 44 2.1 Introduction 44 2.2 Overview of the Jamaican Economy 44 2.3 Challenges to and Implications for Corporate Governance Development 47 2.4 Local and Global Trends in CG Developments 51 2.4.1 The PSOJ Code 51 2.4.2 Global Trends in Corporate Governance 55 2.5 Chapter Summary and Conclusions 59 [2] PART TWO: THE THEORETICAL AND METHODOLOGICAL FRAMEWORK Chapter 3: The Theoretical and Academic Framework 61 3.1 Introduction 61 3.2 A Brief History of Corporate Governance Development 62 3.2.1 An Introductory Overview 62 3.2.2 Corporate Governance Development and its Democratic Principles 68 3.3 Relevant Theories of Corporate Governance 73 3.3.1 Agency Theory 74 3.3.2 Shareholder versus Stakeholder Argument 75 3.3.3 Transaction Cost Theory 75 3.3.4 Stewardship Theory 76 3.3.5 Volunteered Governance versus Enforced Governance 77 3.4 Regulation 78 3.4.1 Introduction 78 3.4.2 The Role of Public Policy 79 3.4.3 The Political Governance Environment 80 3.4.4 The Corporate Governance Environment 82 3.5 Perceptions and Incidents of Corruption 94 3.5.1 Introduction 94 3.5.2 Theoretical and Empirical Discussion on Corruption 95 3.6 Ownership and Control, Stakeholder Relations, and Perception and Role of Institutional Investors 97 3.6.1 Ownership and Control 97 3.6.2 The Nature and Role of Stakeholder Relations (Representation) 98 3.6.3 Perception and Role of Institutional Investors (IIs) in CG Development 99 3.7 Board Characteristics and Processes (CG Practices) 101 3.7.1 Introduction 101 3.7.2 Corporate Governance Practices 102 3.8 Board’s Role in Firm Strategic Decision-Making Processes 112 3.8.1 Introduction 112 3.8.2 Theoretical Models of Board Involvement 112 3.8.3 Competing Theoretical Perspectives of Board Involvement 114 3.9 The Nature and Role of Corporate Disclosure 115 3.10 Chapter Summary and Conclusion 117 Chapter 4: The Research Strategy and Methodology 119 4.1 Introduction 119 4.2 Research Objectives and Key Elements (Research Questions) 119 4.2.1 General and Specific Objectives 119 4.2.2 Research Objectives and Key Elements 119 4.3 The Research Strategy 121 4.3.1 The Focus of the Research 122 4.3.2 Epistemological Issues 123 4.3.3 The Research Designs and Data Collection Issues 125 4.4 The Research Methods and Population Issues 129 4.4.1 Interviewer’s Administered Questionnaire Survey 129 4.4.2 Case Studies 133 4.4.3. The Focus Groups 141 [3] 4.4.4 Assessing the Perception and Role of Institutional Investors (IIs) 145 4.5 Data Analysis and Coding Issues 146 4.5.1 Introduction 146 4.5.2 Interviewer’s Administrative Questionnaire Survey 146 4.5.3 Focus Group and Case Studies 148 4.5.4 Secondary Data Analysis 150 4.6 The Fieldwork Overview 151 4.7 The Aims and Target Users of the Research 152 4.8 Chapter Summary and Conclusions 153 PART THREE: RESULTS, FINDINGS AND ANALYTICAL DISCUSSIONS Chapter 5: Regulation and Corruption: Issues for Public Policy Analysis 155 5.1 Introduction 155 5.2 The Impact of Regulation: A Case Study Approach 155 5.2.1 Introduction 155 5.2.2 Findings 157 5.2.3 Evidence of Systemic Weaknesses: Cases of Jamaica’s Financial Sector Meltdown and Lessons Learnt 164 5.3 Perception and Incidents of Corruption 168 5.3.1 Introduction 168 5.3.2 Some Causes of Corruption 169 5.3.3 The Economic Implications of Corruption 170 5.3.4 Incidents and Case Evidence of Corruption 172 5.3.5 Regulatory Responses 176 5.4 Chapter Summary and Conclusions 180 Chapter 6: Findings and Discussions: Ownership and Control, Stakeholder Relations and Perception and Role of Institutional Investors 182 6.1 Introduction 182 6.2 Ownership and Control 182 6.2.1 Introduction 182 6.2.2 Findings of this Research 182 6.2.3 An Integration of Findings across Methodological Approaches 186 6.2.4 Pros and Cons of High Ownership Concentration 190 6.3 The Role of Stakeholder Relations (Representation) 191 6.3.1 Introduction 191 6.3.2 Findings of this Study 192 6.3.3 Trade Union and Employee Representation 200 6.3.4 An Integration of Methodological Findings on Stakeholder Representation 202 6.4 Perception and Role of Institutional Investors (IIs) in Corporate Governance Development 203 6.4.1 Introduction 203 6.4.2 Findings of this Research 204 6.5 Chapter Summary and Conclusions 207 [4] Chapter 7: Findings and Discussions: Board Characteristics & Processes, Board’s Role in Strategic Decision-Making and Corporate Disclosure 209 7.1 Introduction 209 7.2 Findings on Board Characteristics and Processes (CG Practices) 209 7.2.1 Board Sizes 209 7.2.2 Chairman/CEO Duality vis-a-vis Separation 211 7.2.3 Non-Executive vis-a-vis Executive Directors, and Director Selection 214 7.2.4 An Integration of Research Findings 218 7.2.5 Board Committees and Composition 220 7.2.6 Tenure of Directors 222 7.2.7 Gender and Inequality Issues 224 7.2.8 An Integration of Findings Across Methodological Approaches 226 7.2.9 Frequency of Board Meetings, Timing of Distribution of Board Papers and Proxy Forms 227 7.2.10 Board Performance Evaluation and Director Training 229 7.3 Findings on Board’s Role in Firms’ Strategic Decision-Making 230 7.3.1 Introduction 230 7.3.2 Findings of this Study 232 7.3.3 An Integration of Methodological Findings 235 7.4 Findings on the Nature and Role of Corporate Disclosure: A Case Study Approach 238 7.4.1 Introduction 238 7.4.2 Findings of this Study 239 7.5 Chapter Summary and Conclusions 251 PART FOUR: GAP ANALYSIS, THESIS CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS FOR PUBLIC POLICY Chapter 8: Gap Analysis and Implications for Public Policy 254 8.1 Introduction 254 8.2 Theoretical and Empirical Gaps 254 8.2.1 Theoretical Gaps Related to the Social Science Literature 254 8.2.2 Empirical Gaps Related to the Issues and Findings of this Study 255 8.3 Regulatory and General Public Policy Gaps 257 8.3.1 Potential Regulatory Gaps: An Analysis of Selected Regulations 257 8.3.2 Balancing Uncontrollable Demands in CG Reform 262 8.4 Implications and Recommendations for Public Policy Reform 264 8.4.1 Introduction 264 8.4.2 Reform to Reduce Level of Corruption 266 8.4.3 Reform to Create an Environment to Encourage Whistle-Blowing 267 8.4.4 Reform to increase and improve the Quality and Quantity of Information Disclosure 268 8.4.5 Reforming the Board and its Key Structures 269 8.4.6 Other Relevant Corporate Governance Issus 273 8.5 Conclusions 277 [5] Chapter 9: Thesis Conclusions, Limitations of the Study and Suggestions for Future Research 278 9.1 Introduction 278 9.2 Conclusions on Key Elements of the Study 279 9.2.1 Introduction 279 9.2.2 Regulation 281 9.2.3 Corruption 282 9.2.4 Ownership and Control 283 9.2.5 Stakeholder Relations (Engagement) 284 9.2.6 Institutional Investors 285 9.2.7 Board Characteristics and Processes 285 9.2.8 Board’s role in Strategic Decision-Making 290 9.2.9 Corporate Disclosure 291 9.3 Limitations of the Study 292 9.4 Implications and Suggestions for Future Research 296 9.4.1 Introduction 296 9.4.2 The Integration of different Theoretical Perspectives 296 9.4.3 The Need for more CG Research on Non-Anglo-Saxon Countries other than the USA and Britain 297 9.4.4 The Involvement and Contribution of Employees 297 9.4.5 Emphasis on Process Studies 297 9.4.6 The Board as an “Instrument” for Influencing Strategy 297 9.4.7 The Emphasis on the Diffusion and Effectiveness of the Volunteered Governance 298 9.4.8 Emphasis on SMEs, Public Bodies and Not-for-Profit Organizations 298 9.4.9 Corruption 299 9.4.10 Non Employee Stakeholders 299 9.4.11 Enterprise Risk Management 300 9.5 Epilogue 301 Bibliography 302 Appendices 313 Word count: 131,416 [6] II. LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1.0 The Problem Statement Summarised 32 3.1 Governance Volunteered versus Governance Enforced 78 3.2 Synopsis of Jamaica’s Governance Landscape 83 3.3 Prototype Model of Jamaica’s Corporate Governance Environment 85 3.4 Board Roles in the Two-tier and One-tier Board Models 113 4.1 Research Methodological Model for Data & Information Collection & Analysis 126 5.1 Case Companies Prototype Regulatory Framework 163 6.1 Case Companies Stakeholder Relationship “Cause and Effect Model” 199 7.1 Presence of Female Directors 224 7.2 Level of Involvement of the Board in Strategic Direction 238 8.1 Pressure for and Against CG Reform in Jamaica 265 8.2 Suggested CG Initiatives that should constitute a reform Agenda 265 III.