The Relative importance of corporate governance attributes: evidence from corporate stakeholders

Purpose: This paper examines the relative importance of corporate governance attributes from the perspectives of three groups of stakeholders: Shareholders, Creditors and Directors. Originality: The paper investigates the perceptions of corporate governance attributes, which have not been examined by previous studies in corporate governance literature. Key literature/theoretical perspective: This study is built around agency theory and directors’ reputation hypothesis. The study also explores prior studies which have examined the association between corporate governance attributes and outcomes. Combining the theoretical framework and these prior studies, this study formulates hypotheses that predict stakeholders’ perceptions of corporate governance attributes. Design/methodology/approach: This study utilises two steps of behavioural approach. Firstly, preliminary interviews are conducted to refine the list of attributes that are important to stakeholders. Secondly, this study uses the Adaptive Conjoint Analysis survey method to examine the relative importance of the corporate governance attributes. Research limitations/implications: The classification of corporate governance attributes into four major groups might be inaccurate. This paper contributes to the literature by providing guidance for future corporate governance research about the important corporate governance attributes. Practical and Social implications: This study might assist regulators with regards to future revisions of current regulations.