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Corporate Governance and Regulation in Privatized Utilities: Telecommunications in Four European Countries

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Andrea E. Goldstein
Andrea E. Goldstein*
Affiliation:
OECD Development Centre
*
Andrea E. Goldstein, OECD Development Centre.
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Abstract

This paper analyzes the evolution of corporate governance and regulation in privatized telecommunication companies in the four largest EU economies. A political-economy approach is used to test the validity of the convergence hypothesis, which posits that globalization should produce convergence in business practices, ownership patterns, and regulatory frameworks. While there are signs that the structure of ownership and monitoring in continental Europe is adopting some of the features of the Anglo-Saxon arms-length governance system, corporate decisions remain shaped by durable national institutions and distinctive political traditions regarding the role of the corporation in society, the “just” level of executive remuneration, the concept of universal service, and the involvement of the state in corporate restructuring.

Type
Research Article
Information
Business and Politics , Volume 2 , Issue 2 , August 2000 , pp. 189 - 223
Copyright
Copyright © V.K. Aggarwal 2000 and published under exclusive license to Cambridge University Press 

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