2021 Global Corporate Governance Colloquium (GCGC)

The videos of each session are available under the presentation tab on this page and also on the ECGI YouTube channel

The Sixth Annual GCGC Conference was hosted (online) by Yale Law School on 11 - 12 June 2021. 

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GCGC 2021, hosted virtually by Yale Law School due to pandemic restrictions, showcased pivotal research addressing the expanding roles of institutional investors, the effects of concentrated ownership, and the integration of stakeholder interests alongside shareholder goals.

A prominent theme was the role of large institutional investors in promoting systematic risk mitigation—such as climate change and social stability—through diversified portfolio strategies. Jeff Gordon’s Systematic Stewardship introduced a model encouraging asset managers to target these broader risks rather than focus on firm-specific performance, positioning institutional investors as key players in addressing economy-wide challenges. This approach, he suggested, can enhance risk adjusted returns by addressing systemic issues that impact entire economies, aligning investor and societal interests.

Complementing this was the exploration of stakeholderism in Lucian Bebchuk, Kobi Kastiel, and Roberto Tallarita’s For Whom Corporate Leaders Bargain, which questioned the effectiveness of constituency statutes that permit leaders to consider stakeholder welfare in acquisitions. In private equity acquisitions, they found that corporate leaders prioritize shareholder returns, with limited protections for other stakeholders. This finding questions the reliance on managerial discretion for stakeholder protections and suggests a need for enforceable regulatory approaches.

Research on family firm governance was presented in the study “Underperformance in Family Successions: The Role of Outside Work Experience" by Irena Kustec, Charlotte Ostergaard, and Amir Sasson. Their findings revealed that CEO succession performance depends on the successor’s experience. The study highlighted the benefits of outside experience for family business successors, showing how diverse perspectives enhance firm performance—a finding that resonates with the growing emphasis on diversity in leadership.

Alon Brav, Matthew Cain, and Jonathon Zytnick’s work on Retail Shareholder Participation in the Proxy Process further examined the impact of retail investors, revealing that retail shareholders, often overlooked, meaningfully influence corporate voting outcomes.

Bertrand, Bombardini, Fisman, Trebbi, and Yegen’s study, Investing in Influence: Investors, Portfolio Firms, and Political Giving, revealed how institutional investors may shape the political contributions of firms in which they hold substantial stakes, thus amplifying their political influence.

Finally, discussions of The Corporate Governance Machine by Pollman and Lund and The Sustainability Wage Gap by Meyerick, Niessen Ruenzi, Schmid, and Solomon emphasized the embedded structures and trade-offs in governance, from entrenched shareholder primacy norms to employee preferences for sustainable roles at lower wages.

These papers collectively illustrate a shift in corporate governance toward integrating diverse stakeholder and systemic considerations, broadening the scope of investor influence, and adapting to global social and environmental imperatives.

BONUS EVENT

In anticipation of the GCGC event, the organisers also presented a virtual workshop on ‘The History of the Corporation’ on 10 June 2021. The workshop highlighted Imperial Russia, turn of the century Egypt and China, Edwardian Britain and the Gilded Age US, exploring issues of corporate governance that continue to resonate in the present day. The morning sessions examined the relative performance of western-style corporations and their indigenous alternatives in Russia, Egypt, and China. More details on this event are available here.

www.gcgc.global

Questions may be directed to: admin@ecgi.org

This event was organised by the European Corporate Governance Institute (ECGI)