Firm-Level Corporate Governance in Emerging Markets: A Case Study of India

45 Pages Posted: 5 Sep 2012

See all articles by Bala N. Balasubramanian

Bala N. Balasubramanian

Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad; Formerly IIM Bangalore - Centre for Corporate Governance and Citizensip; Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad

Bernard S. Black

Northwestern University - Pritzker School of Law

Vikramaditya S. Khanna

University of Michigan Law School; European Corporate Governance Institute (ECGI)

Multiple version iconThere are 3 versions of this paper

Date Written: August 25, 2008

Abstract

We provide an overview of Indian corporate governance practices, based primarily on responses to a 2006 survey of 370 Indian public companies. Compliance with legal norms IS reasonably high in most areas, but not complete. We identify areas where Indian corporate governance is relatively strong and weak, and areas where regulation might usefully be either relaxed or strengthened. On the whole, Indian corporate governance rules appear appropriate for larger companies, but could use some strengthening in the area of related party transactions, and some relaxation for smaller companies. Executive compensation is low by U.S. standards and is not currently a problem area.

We also examine whether there is a cross-sectional relationship between measures of governance and measures of firm performance and find evidence of a positive relationship for an overall governance index and for an index covering shareholder rights. We find an overall association, which is stronger for more profitable firms and firms with stronger growth opportunities. A subindex for shareholder rights is individually significant, but subindices for board structure (board independence and committee structure), disclosure, board procedure, and related party transactions are not significant. The non-results for board structure contrast to other recent studies, and suggest that India's legal requirements are sufficiently strict so that overcompliance does not produce valuation gains.

Keywords: India, securities law, corporate governance, Clause 49

JEL Classification: G38, K22

Suggested Citation

Balasubramanian, Bala N. and Black, Bernard S. and Khanna, Vikramaditya S., Firm-Level Corporate Governance in Emerging Markets: A Case Study of India (August 25, 2008). IIM Bangalore Research Paper No. 274, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2141658 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2141658

Bala N. Balasubramanian (Contact Author)

Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad ( email )

Vastrapur
Ahmedabad, Gujarat
India
+919167036140 (Phone)

Formerly IIM Bangalore - Centre for Corporate Governance and Citizensip ( email )

Bannerghatta Road
Bangalore, Karnataka 560076
India

Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad ( email )

Vastrapur
Ahmedabad, Gujarat
India
+919167036140 (Phone)

Bernard S. Black

Northwestern University - Pritzker School of Law ( email )

375 E. Chicago Ave
Chicago, IL 60611
United States
312-503-2784 (Phone)

Vikramaditya S. Khanna

University of Michigan Law School ( email )

625 South State Street
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1215
United States
734-615-6959 (Phone)

European Corporate Governance Institute (ECGI) ( email )

c/o the Royal Academies of Belgium
Rue Ducale 1 Hertogsstraat
1000 Brussels
Belgium

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