Center for Corporate Governance (CCG)

President: Jordi Canals
+34 93 253 42 00
ccg@iese.edu

Companies are facing unprecedented disruptions and challenges (i.e. technological, geopolitical or environmental). The boards of director’s mission to govern effectively is more relevant than ever to develop trustworthy, sustainable and resilient companies that have a lasting positive impact on society.

The IESE Center for Corporate Governance aims to contribute to improve governance models and practices grounded on evidence-based research which have a deep impact on how companies build and implement sustainable value creation strategies for the long term.

Created in 2018, the IESE Center for Corporate Governance is engaged in impactful research, educational programs, academic conferences and dialogue forums between academics, practitioners, investors, board members and regulators to exchange experiences and knowledge.

 

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The IESE Center for Corporate Governance mission is to generate impactful ideas on corporate governance grounded on evidence based research and help bridge the gap between theory and practice in the field of corporate governance. We aim to improve not only the quality, but also the basic assumptions on corporate governance: the firm’s foundation on purpose and values; the professional quality of management; and the long term value creation for all stakeholders involved.

Boards of directors

  • Improving boards of directors’ effectiveness.
  • Boards of directors and corporate strategy.
  • Boards of directors and corporate culture.
  • Governance and executive compensation.
  • CEO succession.

Shareholders

  • Influence of institutional investors.
  • Institutional investors and stewardship.
  • Governance of listed firms, family-owned business and foundations.
  • Shareholder activism.

Purpose in corporate governance

  • Corporate purpose  in governance.
  • Corporate purpose and business performance.
  • Corporate purpose and culture.
  • Corporate purpose and ESG.

GOVERNING ESG & SUSTAINABILITY

  • Sustainability impact.
  • ESG measurement, accountability and disclosure.
  • Sustainable finance.
  • Impact investment.

Books

Fernandes, N. (2023). Climate Finance.

Canals, J. (2023). Boards of Directors in Disruptive Times. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Canals, J., Heukamp, F. (2020). The Future of Management in an AI world. Palgrave MacMillan.

 

Survey

Sakasai, Y., Ormazabal, G., Canals, J. (2022). Survey on Boards of Directors: Corporate Purpose, Culture and Strategy. IESE Publishing.

 

Articles in journals

Cohen, S., Kadach, I., Ormazabal, G., Reichelstein, S. (2023). Executive Compensation Tied to ESG Performance: International Evidence. Journal of Accounting Research.

Almandoz, J. (2023). Inside-out and outside-in perspectives on corporate purpose. Strategy Science.

Antón, M.,  J. Azar, M. Giné, and L. X. Lind. (2022). “Beyond the target: M&A decisions and rival ownership”. Journal of Financial Economics 144 (1), 44-66.

Beccarini, I., Beunza, D., Ferraro, F., Hoepner, A. (2022). “The Contingent role of conflict. Deliberative interaction and disagreement in shareholder engagement”. Business Ethics Quarterly.

Berrone, P., and Truonga, Y. (2022).  “Can environmental innovation be a conventional source of higher market valuation?”. Journal of Business Research 142, 113-121.

Bonetti, P., Ormazabal, G. (2022). “Boosting foreign investment. The Role of certification of corporate governance”. Journal of Accounting Research.

Canals, J. (2022). “Boards of Directors and Corporate Strategy”. Strategy Science, 7 (2), 143-147.

Cohen, S., Kadach, I., and Ormazabal, G. (2022). “Why do Institutional Investors Request Climate Related Disclosures?”. SSRN Working paper.

Cohen, S., Kadach, I., and Ormazabal, G. and Reichelstein, S. (2022). “Executive Compensation Tied to ESG Performance: International Evidence”. European Corporate Governance Institute – Finance Working Paper No. 825/2022

Duro, M., López-Espinosa, G., Mayordomo, S., Ormazabal, G., Rodríguez-Moreno, M. (2022). “Enforcing Mandatory Reporting on Private Firms. The Role of Bankers”. Banco de España Working Paper n. 2238.

Ricart, J. and Rey, C. 2022. “Purpose in Corporate Governance. The Path towards a more sustainable world”. Sustainability, 14 (8), Article 4384.

Azar, J., Duro, M., Kadach, I., Ormazabal, G. (2021). “The Big three and corporate carbon emissions around the world”. Journal of Financial Economics, 142 (2), 674-696

Azar, J., Schmalz, M. C., Tecu, I. (2021). “Research on the Competitive Consequences of Common Ownership: A Methodological Critique”. The Antitrust Bulletin.

Azar, J., Vives, X. (2021). “General Equilibrium Oligopoly and Ownership Structure”. Econometrica.

Bolton, P., Kacperczyk, M. T., Leuz, C., Ormazabal, G., Reichelstein, S., Schoenmaker, D. (2021). “Mandatory carbon disclosures and the path to net zero”. Management and Business Review.

Keller, A., Lumineau, F., Mellewigt, T., and Ariño, A. (2021). “Alliance Governance Mechanisms in the Face of Disruption”. Organization Science, 32 (6), 1542–1570.

Ramus, T., Vaccaro, A., Berrone, P. (2021). “Time matters! How hybrid organizations use time to respond to divergent stakeholder demands”. Organization Studies, 42 (10), 1529-1555

Smulowitz, S., Almandoz, J. (2021). “Predicting Employee Wrongdoing: The Complementary Effect of CEO Option Pay and the Pay Gap”. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes.

Yan, S., Almandoz, J., Ferraro, F. (2021). “The Impact of logic (in)compatibility. Greeninvesting, state policy, and corporate environmental performance”. Administrative Science Quarterly, 66 (4), 903-944.

Azar, J. (2020). “The Common Ownership Trilemma”. The University of Chicago Law Review.

Badia, M., Duro, M., Jorgensen, B.N., Ormazabal, G. (2020). “The Informational Effects of Tightening Oil and Gas Disclosure Rules”. Contemporary Accounting Research.

Cuñat, V., Giné, M. and Guadalupe, M. (2020). “Price and Probability: Decomposing the Takeover Effects of Anti‐Takeover Provisions”. The Journal of Finance.

Truong, Y., Mazloomi, H., Berrone, P. (2020). “Understanding the impact of symbolic and substantive environmental actions on organizational reputation”. Industrial Marketing Management.

 

Cases

Canals, Jordi, Masclans, R. (2021). PromoFarma 2018. IESE Publishing, SM-1692-E.

Canals, J., Tàpies, J., Masclans, R. (2021). Fluidra: Creating the Company of the Future. IESE Publishing, SM-1697-E.

Masclans, R., Canals, J. (2021). Ingka: Corporate Governance, Purpose and Transformation. IESE Publishing, SM-1698-E.

Ormazabal, G., Kadach, I. (2019). Say on Pay at Citigroup. IESE Publishing, SM-1692-E. C-795-E.

Caldart, A., Canals, J. (2019). Almirall: Guiding the Future of the Company. IESE Publishing, SM-1686-E.

 

IESE-ECGI Corporate Governance Conference Series

The IESE Center for Corporate Governance and the European Corporate Governance Institute (ECGI) bring senior academics and thought-leaders in business to discuss relevant corporate governance topics through conferences.

Corporate Governance, Corporate Culture and the Board’s Culture

2022

Watch here

Boards of Directors and Corporate Strategy in an Uncertain Context

2021

Watch here

Can Purpose Deliver Better Corporate Governance?

2020

Watch here

Corporate Governance and Ownership with Diverse Shareholders

2019

Watch here

Corporate Governance Insights

MAY 2023 NEWSLETTER

Carbon Accounting: What Every Board Director Should Know

APRIL 2023 NEWSLETTER

Boards, Geopolitics and Corporate Strategy
Subscribe to our Newsletter

Leadership Team

Jordi Canals

Jordi Canals

President
Gaizka Ormazabal

Gaizka Ormazabal

Academic Director
Núria Molet

Núria Molet

Manager

Faculty Team

John Almandoz

John Almandoz

Professor, Managing People in Organizations
Miguel Antón

Miguel Antón

Professor, Financial Management
África Ariño

África Ariño

Professor, Strategic Management
José Azar

José Azar

Research Associate, Economics
Pascual Berrone

Pascual Berrone

Professor, Strategic Management
Pietro Bonetti

Pietro Bonetti

Assistant Professor, Accounting and Control
Adrián Caldart

Adrián Caldart

Associate Professor, Strategic Management
Jordi Canals

Jordi Canals

Professor, Strategic Management
Miguel Duro

Miguel Duro

Associate Professor, Accounting and Control
Marta Elvira

Marta Elvira

Professor, Strategic Management and Managing People in Organizations
Christian Eufinger

Christian Eufinger

Associate Professor, Financial Management
Nuno Fernandes

Nuno Fernandes

Professor, Financial Management
Fabrizio Ferraro

Fabrizio Ferraro

Professor, Strategic Management
Mireia Giné

Mireia Giné

Professor, Financial Management
Igor Kadach

Igor Kadach

Assistant Professor, Accounting and Control
Núria Mas

Núria Mas

Professor, Economics
Gaizka Ormazabal

Gaizka Ormazabal

Professor, Accounting and Control
Fernando Peñalva

Fernando Peñalva

Professor, Accounting and Control
Joan Enric Ricart

Joan Enric Ricart

Professor, Strategic Management
Juan Roure

Juan Roure

Emeritus Professor, Entrepreneurship and Negotiation Teaching Unit
Stefano Sacchetto

Stefano Sacchetto

Associate Professor, Financial Management
Josep Tàpies

Josep Tàpies

Emeritus Professor, Strategic Management
Carles Vergara

Carles Vergara

Professor, Financial Management
Xavier Vives

Xavier Vives

Professor, Economics and Financial Management

News

Carbon Accounting

In the latest issue of our newsletter, professor Gaizka Ormazabal discusses what every board director should know about carbon accounting.

Climate Finance

IESE Professor Nuno Fernandes has recently published CLIMATE FINANCE, a book where he offers a useful guide to address climate-related financial issues, risks and opportunities and disentangles the complex layers of decision-making around it.

2022 IESE Survey on Boards of Directors

This survey aims at understanding how board directors analyze and work on four relevant themes for the quality of corporate governance and the effectiveness of boards of directors: corporate purpose, culture, strategy and board engagement.

Boards of Directors in Disruptive Times

It’s high time to do better, asserts IESE Professor Jordi Canals in his 2022 book, Boards of Directors in Disruptive Times: Improving Corporate Governance Effectiveness. In 10 chapters, Canals offers a detailed analysis explaining why the prevailing model of corporate boards is falling short in our current era of accelerated change and radical transformation.

Videos

<p>The Boards of Directors. Its Role in Corporate Culture. A CEOs Roundtable.</p>

The Boards of Directors. Its Role in Corporate Culture. A CEOs Roundtable.

Watch on Youtube
<p>Boards, Activist Investors and Strategic Decision-Making</p>

Boards, Activist Investors and Strategic Decision-Making

Watch on Youtube
<p>Corporate Purpose, Ownership and Performance</p>

Corporate Purpose, Ownership and Performance

Watch on Youtube
<p>Executive Compensation: Evidence from the Field and Implications for Corporate Culture</p>

Executive Compensation: Evidence from the Field and Implications for Corporate Culture

Watch on Youtube

Corporate Governance, Corporate Culture and the Board’s Culture

The 2022 IESE-ECGI Corporate Governance Conference discussed the role of corporate culture in corporate governance from the specific perspective of the board of directors as the top decision-maker in an organization with a cross-disciplinary approach.

 

Boards of Directors and Corporate Strategy in an Uncertain Context

The 2021 IESE-ECGI Corporate Governance Conference discussed the role of boards of directors when dealing with corporate strategy in a context where the level of uncertainties that companies face is increasing.

 

Can Purpose Deliver Better Corporate Governance?

Corporate purpose has galvanized a global movement that promises to restore trust in companies, to produce goods and services without doing harm, while providing a fair return to employees and shareholders. The 2020 IESE-ECGI Corporate Governance Conference discussed the connection between corporate purpose and governance.

 

Corporate Governance and Ownership with Diverse Shareholders

The 2019 IESE-ECGI Corporate Governance Conference offered a context to reflect upon and better understand how the different nature of shareholders have an impact on the way companies are governed and managed, and, eventually, on some key decisions that define corporate governance –like board composition, board dynamics, CEO hiring and firing, strategy making and incentives design.

 

The importance of corporate governance

IESE professor Jordi Canals explains why corporate governance matters and how to create a good corporate governance system that prevents self-interest-seeking behavior by the top management of a company.

 

What are the seismic shifts affecting corporate governance?

Harvard Business School’s Krishna Palepu spoke at IESE on the impact of scandal on business in recent years, shifts towards compliance, the role of boards in determining strategy, and how to deal with the delicate issue of stakeholder activism.

 

Accountable managers, responsible companies. Lessons from the crisis: emerging shareholder activism

Responsible investment has become a $32 billion reality, integrating social, environmental and governance issues in portfolio decisions. Meanwhile, the say-on-pay movement, rather than driving managers out, has become a vote of confidence in the CEO. In the wake of the crisis, emerging shareholder activism comes with benefits to investors and the broader society.

 

Boards and shareholders redrawing their boundaries

Board-shareholder dynamics have been evolving since the financial crisis. In this interview, Harvard Business School professor Jay Lorsch discusses a business environment still struggling to regain societal trust and the potential influence of new shareholder empowerment on board decisions.

Programs

The Center collaborates with all IESE Executive Education Programs. The programs related to corporate governance currently available are:

Value Creation Through Effective Boards

Mujeres en Consejos de Administración

Consejos de Administración Responsables

Publications

Journal Articles (refereed)

AZAR, J., SCHMALZ, M. C., TECU, I. (2021). Research on the competitive consequences of common ownership. A Methodological critique. The Antitrust Bulletin, 66 (1), 113-122. doi:10.1177/0003603X20985799.
NECKEBROUCK, J., MEULEMAN, M., MANIGART, S. (2021). Governance Implications of Attracting External Equity Investors In Private Family Firms. Academy of Management Perspectives, 35 (1), 25-44. doi:https://doi.org/10.5465/amp.2017.0204.
SMULOWITZ, S. J., ALMANDOZ, J. (2021). Predicting employee wrongdoing. The complementary effect of CEO option pay and the pay gap. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 162, 123-135. doi:10.1016/j.obhdp.2020.10.018.
ANTÓN, M., XIANRAN LIN, L. (2020). The Mutual Friend: Dual Holder Monitoring and Firm Investment Efficiency. The Review of Corporate Finance Studies, 9 (1), 81 - 115. doi:10.1093/rcfs/cfz010.
DURO, M., HEESE, J., ORMAZABAL, G. (2019). The Effect of Enforcement Transparency: Evidence from SEC Comment-Letter Reviews. Review of Accounting Studies, 24 (3), 780 - 823. doi:10.1007/s11142-019-09503-1.
YAN, S., FERRARO, F., ALMANDOZ, J. (2019). The Rise of Socially Responsible Investment Funds: The Paradoxical Role of the Financial Logic. Administrative Science Quarterly, 64 (2), 466 - 501. doi:10.1177/0001839218773324.
BEUNZA, D., FERRARO, F. (2019). Performative Work: Bridging Performativity and Institutional Theory in the Responsible Investment Field. Organization Studies, 40 (4), 515 - 543. doi:10.1177/0170840617747917.
FERRARO, F. (2019). Going Political? Towards Deliberative Corporate Governance. Journal of Management and Governance, 23 (1), 3 - 20. doi:10.1007/s10997-018-9433-9.
ORMAZABAL, G. (2018). Are Directors More Likely to Relinquish Their Riskiest Directorships after the Financial Crisis? Journal of Corporate Finance, 53, 1 - 20. doi:10.1016/j.jcorpfin.2018.09.001.
FERRARO, F., BEUNZA, D. (2018). Creating Common Ground: A Communicative Action Model of Dialogue in Shareholder Engagement. Organization Science, 29 (6), 1187 - 1207. doi:10.1287/orsc.2018.1226.

Working Papers

CANALS, J. (2022). The Changing Nature and Functions of Boards of Directors (WP-1307-E). Barcelona: IESE.
CANALS, J. (2022). From Financial Performance to ESG Results: How to Assess the Firm's Overall Impact (WP-1308-E). Barcelona: IESE.
CANALS, J. (2019). Renewing General Managers' Tasks in an Artificial Intelligence World (WP-1231-E).
ANTÓN, M., XIANRAN LIN, L. (2019). The Mutual Friend: Dual Holder Monitoring and Firm Investment Efficiency (WP-1218-E).
AZAR, J. (2017). Portfolio Diversification, Market Power, and the Theory of the Firm (WP-1170-E). Barcelona: IESE.

Proceedings

ELLINGER, E. W., GREGORY, R. W. (2018). Owning Without Ownership: How Self-Managing Organizations Reshape Internal Corporate Governance. Academy of Management Proceedings.
ALMANDOZ, J., TILCSIK, A. (2015). When Experts Become Liabilities: Bankers, Boards, and Bank Failures. Academy of Management Proceedings (pp. 1 - 2).
WALLS, J., BERRONE, P. (2015). The Power of One: How CEO Power Affects Corporate Environmental Sustainability. Academy of Management Proceedings.

Articles in other publications

GARTENBERG, C., IESE INSIGHT (2020). Un propósito claro impulsa los resultados. IESE Business School Insight (157), pp. 64-67.
IESE INSIGHT, (2020). The Green Deal. IESE Business School Insight (157), pp. 8-32.
IESE INSIGHT, (2020). El Pacto Verde. Por qué los estímulos verdes son la llave de la recuperación. IESE Business School Insight (157), pp. 8-32.
IESE INSIGHT, (2020). Purpose drives performance. IESE Business School Insight (157), pp. 64-67.
IESE INSIGHT, (2020). Nuevos paradigmas para gobernar la empresa. IESE Business School Insight (155), pp. 8 - 32.

Books

NUENO, P. (2017). The 2020 Board: The Future of Company Boards.
NUENO, P. (2016). The 2020 Board: The Future of Company Boards. Madrid: LID Editorial.
NUENO, P. (2016). El Consejo 2020. Argentina: LID Editorial Empresarial.
CALLEJA, L. M., ROVIRA, M. (2015). Gobierno institucional. La dirección colegiada. Barañáin: EUNSA. Ediciones Universidad de Navarra.
GALLO, M. Á., GÓMEZ, G. (2015). Evolución y desarrollo de la empresa y de la familia. Barañáin: EUNSA. Ediciones Universidad de Navarra.

Edited books

GALLO, M. Á. (2004). La sucesión en la empresa familiar. Barcelona: Estudios y Ediciones IESE.
MELÉ, D. (1996). Ética en el gobierno de la empresa: V coloquio de ética empresarial y económica. Barañain: Eunsa.

Book Chapters

TÀPIES, J. (2019). Family-owned firms: The role of the board of directors, family council and family office. In Caldart, A., Ricart, J.E. and Carrera, A. (Eds), General Management in Latin and Ibero American Organizations: A Humanistic Perspective. Abingdon, Oxon ; New York: Routledge.
CALDART, A., CARRERA, A., CORNEJO, M. (2019). The agenda of the chief executive officer. In Caldart, A., Ricart, J.E. and Carrera, A. (Eds), General Management in Latin and Ibero American Organizations: A Humanistic Perspective. Abingdon, Oxon ; New York: Routledge.
DURO, M., ORMAZABAL, G. (2018). Does Regulating Banks' Corporate Governance Help? A Review of the Empirical Evidence. In Belén Díaz Díaz, Samuel O. Idowu, Philip Molyneux (Eds.), Corporate Governance in Banking and Investor Protection: From Theory to Practice (pp. 3 - 20). Cham: Springer International Publishing.
BERRONE, P., GARCÍA PÍRIZ, D. (2013). Will You Keep an Eye on My Investment?. An Empirical Analysis of the Link Between Institutional Investors and Boards of Directors. In Jens Mueller and Philippa Wells (Ed.), Governance in Action Globally: Strategy, Process and Reality (pp. 221 - 239). Oxford, UK: RossiSmith Academic Publications Ltd.
GARCÍA-CASTRO, R., AGUILERA, R. (2012). A Decade of Corporate Governance Reforms in Spain (2000-2010). In A. Rasheed and T. Yoshikawa (eds.) (Ed.), The Convergence of Corporate Governance: Promise and Prospects (pp. 187 - 211). Basingstoke [England]: Palgrave Macmillan.

Studies

ZAMORA, J., VALOR SABATIER, J., RICART, J. E., INFANTE MIDDLETON, N., GUERRA CORTADA, T., PÉREZ TEJADA, J. L. (2022). Data-Driven Organizations: Estudio IESE-Penteo. Diagnóstico de la transformación digital en organizaciones impulsadas por los datos por. IESE.
ZAMORA, J., VALOR SABATIER, J., RICART, J. E., INFANTE MIDDLETON, N., GUERRA CORTADA, T., PÉREZ TEJADA, J. L. (2022). Data-Driven Index: IESE-Penteo Study. Diagnosis of Digital Transformation in Data-Driven Organizations. IESE.
SAKASAI, Y., ORMAZÁBAL, G., CANALS, J. (2022). 2022 IESE Survey on Boards of Directors: Corporate Purpose, Culture and Strategy. IESE.
MULLER, P., FONTRODONA, J. (2021). Horizonte ESG. Cuaderno 49: Compromiso y consistencia. IESE.
ATREVIA,, IESE (2021). Mujeres en los Consejos de las empresas cotizadas. IV Radiografía del mercado continuo. IX Informe de mujeres en el IBEX.

Cases

NECKEBROUCK, J., MEULEMAN, M. (2023). Miriam's Buyout (A). Buying a Business is Entrepreneurship Too. IESE, E-228-E.
NECKEBROUCK, J., MEULEMAN, M. (2023). Miriam's Buyout (B). To Buy or Not To Buy? Assessing the Target. IESE, E-232-E.
NECKEBROUCK, J., MEULEMAN, M. (2023). Miriam's Buyout (C). Final Negotiations. IESE, E-233-E.
FITZ HERBERT, A., DE LA CIERVA, Y. (2023). Monsanto y la Universidad Nacional de Córdoba (A): El precio de la mala reputación. La perspectiva universitaria. IESE, DPO-798.
FITZ HERBERT, A., DE LA CIERVA, Y. (2023). Monsanto y la Universidad Nacional de Córdoba (B): El precio de la mala reputación. La perspectiva empresarial. IESE, DPO-799.

Technical Notes

GARCÍA PONT, C. (2023). Breve introducción a los deberes y las responsabilidades de los consejeros. IESE, MN-417.
GARCÍA PONT, C. (2023). Brief Introduction to the Duties and Responsibilities of Directors. IESE, MN-417-E.
CANALS, J. (2022). The Role of the Board of Directors in Corporate Transformation. IESE, SMN-708-E.
SEGURADO, J. L., ROURE, J. (2022). Venture Boards (I). Consejos de administración en empresas emergentes: papel y evolución. IESE, EN-37.
SEGURADO, J. L. (2022). Venture Boards (II). Consejos de administración en empresas emergentes: implementación y funcionamiento. IESE, EN-38.