TY - JOUR
T1 - Stakeholders, accountability and the theory-practice gap in developing nations' corporate governance systems
T2 - Evidence from Uganda
AU - Wanyama, Simeon
AU - Burton, Bruce
AU - Helliar, Christine
PY - 2013/2
Y1 - 2013/2
N2 - Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine perceptions about the nature and role of corporate governance in Uganda, with the emphasis on accountability within a stakeholder framework. Design/methodology/approach: The study employs interviews and questionnaires to gauge the views of key players in Uganda about the way the nation's firms are governed, in the context of the stakeholder notion and the need for corporate accountability. Findings: The results suggest that the research participants take a broad view of the corporate governance concept, with recognition of a wide range of stakeholders evident. However, issues relating to corruption and the de-facto legal framework mean that practices depart markedly from any reasonable understanding of what might represent "best-practice". Practical implications: The results suggest that there is a gap between the theory and practice of corporate governance in Uganda, and regulators need to address this issue and deal with the endemic corruption and extant legal weaknesses that have given rise to this situation. Originality/value: This is one of the first studies to explicitly examine perceptions about governance standards within an accountability framework in a developing nation.
AB - Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine perceptions about the nature and role of corporate governance in Uganda, with the emphasis on accountability within a stakeholder framework. Design/methodology/approach: The study employs interviews and questionnaires to gauge the views of key players in Uganda about the way the nation's firms are governed, in the context of the stakeholder notion and the need for corporate accountability. Findings: The results suggest that the research participants take a broad view of the corporate governance concept, with recognition of a wide range of stakeholders evident. However, issues relating to corruption and the de-facto legal framework mean that practices depart markedly from any reasonable understanding of what might represent "best-practice". Practical implications: The results suggest that there is a gap between the theory and practice of corporate governance in Uganda, and regulators need to address this issue and deal with the endemic corruption and extant legal weaknesses that have given rise to this situation. Originality/value: This is one of the first studies to explicitly examine perceptions about governance standards within an accountability framework in a developing nation.
KW - Accountability
KW - Corporate governance
KW - Corruption
KW - Developing countries
KW - Stakeholder analysis
KW - Uganda
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84874143528&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1108/14720701311302396
DO - 10.1108/14720701311302396
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84874143528
VL - 13
SP - 18
EP - 38
JO - Corporate Governance
JF - Corporate Governance
SN - 1472-0701
IS - 1
ER -