Ruth V. AguileraNortheastern University | NEU
Ruth V. Aguilera
Harvard University PhD
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197
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Introduction
Skills and Expertise
Publications
Publications (197)
Research Question/Issue
The prominent ownership position of the Big Three asset management firms (i.e., BlackRock, Vanguard, and State Street Global Advisors) in many leading companies around the world has sparked a lively debate regarding whether their concentration of power is beneficial or detrimental for corporate governance (CG). We conduct a...
While the property right theory has gained prominence in contemporary literature, there is a notable lack of empirical research into its relevance. This study delves into the implications of the property right theory concerning family-owned businesses and their impact on productivity. Specifically, we explore how family firms’ characteristics affec...
Research Question/Issue
Scholarly interest in business groups (BGs) has grown considerably over the years, as they emerged as important players in the global economy. Yet, there exist ample differences in the corporate governance, strategies, and performance of BG‐affiliated firms. Given that BGs differ substantially across national institutional c...
Research Question/Issue: Scholarly interest in business groups (BGs) has grown considerably over the years, as they emerged as important players in the global economy. Yet, there exist ample differences in the corporate governance, strategies, and perfor- mance of BG-affiliated firms. Given that BGs differ substantially across national institutiona...
Over the last three decades, systemic corporate misconduct, increased shareholder activism, and recurrent global financial crises have stirred an extensive academic, business, and societal debate over corporate governance (CG) and the way public corporations are directed and controlled. CG studies “the power and influence over decision making withi...
Over the last three decades, systemic corporate misconduct, increased shareholder activism, and recurrent global financial crises have stirred an extensive academic, business, and societal debate over corporate governance (CG) and the way public corporations are directed and controlled (Haxhi, 2010). CG studies “the power and influence over decisio...
In this monograph, we discuss the corporate governance of business groups (BGs). To this end, we broadly define both BGs and corporate governance to provide an inter-disciplinary conceptualization. We begin by reviewing the key governance theories that scholars have applied to BGs thus far. We then examine the different corporate governance dimensi...
What drives organizational nonconformity to global corporate governance norms? Despite the prevalence of such norms and attendant conformity pressures, many firms do not adhere to them. We build on a political view of corporate governance to explore how different national institutional contexts and organizational conditions combine to produce over-...
We review three books that examine three interrelated grand challenges: climate change, abusive power in the workplace, and unfair international trading relations. The main take-away is that decision makers’ moral compass is centrally important to bring about more equitable and sustainable outcomes. Although the three books differ in structure and...
The Oxford Handbook of Hedge Funds provides a comprehensive look at the hedge fund industry from a global perspective. The chapters are organized into five main parts. After the introductory chapter in Part I, Part II begins in Chapter 2 with an analysis of the main factors that have affected the operation of hedge funds. Chapter 3 explains the con...
Born globals, recently established firms that obtain a substantial share of their revenue from foreign markets, can help strengthen countries’ economic vitality and increase innovation levels. The extent of born global formation varies considerably across countries, yet it is unclear why this is the case. Drawing on the neoconfigurational instituti...
Interorganizational spillover refers to the unintended impact of a focal organization’s event on the perceptions and decisions of peer organizations and their stakeholders. Research on interorganizational spillover has escalated in recent years when the academic community has drawn upon different theoretical perspectives and assumptions to understa...
In the face of intractable societal grand challenges, organizations increasingly resort to responsible innovation—that is, they pledge to create value for multiple stakeholders through developing new products or services that avoid doing harm and improve conditions for people and the planet. While the link between responsible innovation and societa...
In this paper, we contribute to the literature on institutional determinants of IPO valuation. We introduce the concept of ‘legal signaling,’ which focuses on the perception of the quality of law and thus complements the existing institutional approaches to IPO valuation which consider the quality of the positive law (‘standard view’) and firm-leve...
In this paper, we contribute to the literature on institutional determinants of IPO valuation. We introduce the concept of ‘legal signalling’, which focuses on the perception of the quality of law and thus complements the existing institutional approaches to IPO valuation which consider the quality of the positive law (‘standard view’) and firm‐lev...
In the face of intractable societal grand challenges, organizations increasingly resort to responsible innovation—that is, they pledge to create value for multiple stakeholders through developing new products or services that avoid doing harm and improve conditions for people and the planet. While the link between responsible innovation and societa...
This paper draws on the articles in the Forum on Corporate Governance to discuss how corporate governance and accounting research complement each other well in explaining how companies are governed as well as properly managed from an accounting point of view. We put special attention to the cross-national differences in both corporate governance sy...
As corporations’ environmental impact comes under greater scrutiny by global financial,
regulatory, and societal stakeholders, management scholars have increasingly focused on the role of corporate governance as a tool for driving environmental initiatives. Still, we lack a comprehensive and systematic understanding of this emergent body of inquiry...
In this paper, we contribute to the literature on institutional determinants of IPO valuation. We introduce the concept of ‘legal signaling,’ which focuses on the perception of the quality of law and thus complements the existing institutional approaches to IPO valuation which consider the quality of the positive law (‘standard view’) and firm-leve...
As corporations’ environmental impact comes under greater scrutiny by global financial, regulatory, and societal stakeholders, management scholars have increasingly focused on the role of corporate governance as a tool for driving environmental initiatives. Still, we lack a comprehensive and systematic understanding of this emergent body of inquiry...
Research Summary
The benefits of foreign institutional ownership (FIO) have been amply researched, but there are also potential downsides to such ownership. High FIO can subject a firm to heightened regulatory scrutiny and compliance, increasing its political dependence. Drawing on resource dependence theory, we argue that firms can manage the poli...
International business (IB) researchers have been slow to embrace a configurational approach in hypothesis formulation and empirical analysis. Yet, much of what IB scholars study is inherently configurational: various explanatory factors and their interplay simultaneously determine the outcome(s) studied, such as governance choice or firm-level per...
Research summary
Building on the comparative capitalism's notion of institutional complementarities, we examine whether firms’ simultaneous adoption of managerial entrenchment provisions (MEPs) and corporate social responsibility (CSR) reinforces or undercuts one another in influencing firm financial performance. We propose that the financial impac...
In this essay, we systematically review research at the intersection of internationalization and business groups by conducting a content analysis from articles in top international business journals. We uncover that there is a strong focus on the effect of business group affiliation on internationalization, yet less attention is given to the intern...
AOM 2019 panel discussing the state of varieties of capitalism research in IB. Some of the slides (Michael Witt's) downloadable from this page.
Emerging economies are oftentimes characterized by state capitalism, concentrated ownership and constrained resources, where firms face underinvestment due to resource misappropriation. The adoption of Anglo-American corporate governance practices may result in sub-optimal outcomes. We draw on the multiple agency perspective and research on cross-n...
Dual-class shares entrench majority shareholders and reduce the ability of minority shareholders to oversee management decisions. This article describes the presence of dual-class shares in Latin American public listed firms and its implications to corporate governance. Using a sample of 621 firms across five Latin American economies, we show that...
We review four decades of research about the corporate governance of multinational corporations (MNCs), which we label International Corporate Governance (ICG). We identify and discuss three main streams of research that draw on different conceptualizations and theoretical lenses of (corporate) governance. After synthesizing their respective findin...
In this article, we review four decades of research about the corporate governance of multinational corporations (MNCs), which we label International Corporate Governance (ICG). We identify and discuss three main streams of research that draw on different conceptualizations and theoretical lenses of (corporate) governance. After synthesizing their...
The influence of the state on firms in the global economy is alive and well. States have become dominant owners of companies in many countries around the world. Firms have also increasingly established political connections to access resources and improve their competitive positions. Nonetheless, our understanding of how state ownership and politic...
In this article, we review four decades of research about the corporate governance of multinational corporations (MNCs), which we label International Corporate Governance (ICG). We identify and discuss three main streams of research that draw on different conceptualizations and theoretical lenses of (corporate) governance. After synthesizing their...
Our commentary returns to the conundrum of how institutions matter in international business (IB) by revisiting the 2018 JIBS Decade Award article by Jackson and Deeg (2008) on Comparing Capitalisms. We first synthesize their main insights around institutional diversity and track its significant impact within IB and other management fields. We then...
This ‘state of the art’ essay provides a comprehensive discussion of the Law and Finance School (LFS) literature. We show that the first two decades of the LFS have focused on empirically investigating the question ‘does law matter?’ Yet, despite the centrality of law to the LFS, it is based on an incoherent theory of law, which leads to shortcomin...
This chapter provides an overview of corporate governance (CG) in emerging markets (EMs). Focusing mainly on the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India, and China), the chapter adopts a systematic cross-national comparative approach. It begins by highlighting the importance of better understanding CG in EMs, and identifies some of the key challenges...
Qualitative comparative analysis is increasingly applied in strategy and organization research. The main purpose of our essay is to support this growing community of qualitative comparative analysis scholars by identifying best practices that can help guide researchers through the key stages of a qualitative comparative analysis empirical study (mo...
This chapter provides an overview of corporate governance (CG) in emerging markets (EMs). Focusing mainly on the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India, and China), the chapter adopts a systematic cross-national comparative approach. It begins by highlighting the importance of better understanding CG in EMs, and identifies some of the key challenges...
This chapter provides an overview of corporate governance (CG) in emerging markets (EMs). Focusing mainly on the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India, and China), the chapter adopts a systematic cross-national comparative approach. It begins by highlighting the importance of better understanding CG in EMs, and identifies some of the key challenges...
This study examines corporate stakeholder orientation (CSO) across industries and over time prior to the introduction of mandatory CSR. We argue that CSO is a legitimacy signal consciously employed by firms to demonstrate their shareholder and specific non-shareholder orientations in the midst of institutional pressures emerging from country and in...
We draw on the socioemotional wealth perspective to examine the influence of family ownership on firms’ noncompliance with corporate governance codes. Our results yield an inverted U-shaped effect of family ownership on noncompliance. While the family influence and control dimension leads to high levels of noncompliance, socioworthiness stemming fr...
Latin America is an under-researched region that has the potential to yield new and important insights on the internationalization of firms from emerging markets, particularly as compared with the experience of firms from other regions. At the same time, some of the unique features of Latin America are generating new ideas that contribute to a bett...
Corporate governance (CG) research has typically been studied from rather disparate disciplinary approaches, thereby offering myopic and often conflicting rationales. We develop an institutional configurational approach to integrate this ‘siloed’ field and explain CG patterns around the world. To do so, we draw on an inductive, theory-building meth...
Within the backdrop of comparative corporate governance research, we draw on the managerial reporting and impression management literatures to examine how the type, level, and nature of foreign shareholders, infused with their own governance logic, influence initial managerial earnings optimism and how foreign ownership shapes earnings guidance in...
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to analyze the contribution of the paper by Martin and Gomez-Mejia and propose complementary approaches and ways to test their hypotheses.
Design/methodology/approach
This study compares different theoretical approaches that complement socioemotional wealth to explain manager’s decisions and firm performance....
Causal complexity has long been recognized as a ubiquitous feature underlying organizational phenomena, yet current theories and methodologies in management are for the most part not well-suited to its direct study. The introduction of the Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) configurational approach has led to a reinvigoration of configurational...
We develop the concept of corporate governance deviance and seek to understand why, when, and how a firm adopts governance practices that do not conform to the dominant governance logic. Drawing on institutional theory, coupled with the entrepreneurship and corporate governance literatures, we advance a middle range theory of the antecedents of cor...
This article is the incoming editorial to the special issue "Review of Corporate Governance", which was published in 2016 in "Corporate Governance: An International Review". The Guest Editors summarise the articles published in the special issue and introduce several new research directions and issues to consider.
Recent tectonic, global, economic and political shifts have spurred the emergence of new organizational forms such as sovereign wealth funds (SWFs), state-owned investment organizations without pension liabilities, arising primarily in emerging and frontier markets. Although scholars have begun to explore SWF macroeconomic trends, little is known a...
In this review, we challenge the idea that directors are well positioned to be effective monitors of management. Moving beyond the logic of incentives and ability, we conceptualize a model based on the premise of boards as groups of individuals obtaining, processing and sharing information and explain how variation in information processing demands...
Purpose
– The purpose of this paper is to critically assess the theoretical underpinnings and extant progress of the research on regional multi-national enterprises (MNEs) and offer a blueprint for future research by re-conceptualizing how (regional) boundaries relate to the international diversification of MNEs.
Design/methodology/approach
– The...
This article addresses reviews research on corporate governance of the modern corporation around the world, with particular attention to the key variable of ownership structure. We first review the evolution of ownership studies from the early days of the Berle and Means to more contemporary research on how ownership has defined the various corpora...
Firms operate in a semi-globalized world wherein opportunities and constraints arise at both the country and regional levels; however, extant theories of firm internationalization focus mostly on country-level determinants. We aim to overcome this deficiency by developing a theoretical model that explicates the mechanisms driving firm international...
Corporate governance research has largely focused on internal governance mechanisms (i.e., the board of directors, controlling owners, and managerial incentives). However, much of this work ignores the role that external corporate governance practices play in preventing managers from engaging in activities detrimental to the welfare of shareholders...
International Business (IB) research on foreign-location choice has experienced a revival in recent years, yet a comprehensive review has been sorely lacking. The purpose of this review is to synthesize the findings of recently published articles on the topic of foreign-location choice and offer fruitful directions for future research. This review...
The UK's 1992 Cadbury Report defines corporate governance ( CG ) as the system by which businesses are directed and controlled. CG codes are a set of best practices designed to address deficiencies in the formal contracts and institutions by suggesting prescriptions on the preferred role and composition of the board of directors, relationships with...
There is a renewed interest among strategy scholars in the relationship between stakeholder theory and the dynamics of value creation-appropriation in firms. Further advancements in this field are arguably impeded by an incomplete conceptualization and measurement of value and by scant characterization of the different patterns of stakeholder value...
The fields of Corporate Governance and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) have attracted increasing scholarly interest and yet the nature of their relationship remains contested. These two areas of knowledge and practice are closely inter-related, particularly as firms seek to gain long-term sustainability. Corporate governance and CSR interface...
Through this paper we examine the corporate social orientations (CSOs) of large firms in India and analyze them across industries to understand whether and to what extent firms’ stakeholder preferences differ with industry membership. Applying signal theory on an inter-temporal examination of CEO statements, we find significant industry differences...
Each panellist intends to evaluate the power and limitations of words for governance systems from a different point of view and line of argumentation. Ruth Aguilera proposes an examination of the words in corporate governance research, which is rooted predominantly in the context of shareholder-value principles and challenges researchers to explore...
Corporate governance research has largely focused on internal governance mechanisms that are designed to align the interests of managers and shareholders. However, much of this work largely ignores the role of external corporate governance mechanisms. This symposium is organized to discuss how external governance mechanisms can help to align the fi...
We ask whether and when shareholder-oriented foreign owners are likely to change corporate governance logics in a stakeholder-oriented setting by introducing shareholder-oriented governance practices. We focus on board monitoring and claim that because the bundle of practices used in a stakeholder context does not protect shareholder-oriented forei...
In this article, we illustrate how the interaction between institutional arrangements and the presence of different categories of firm stakeholders with specific preferences provides important insights to understand the conditions under which corporate restructuring practices are introduced. Institutions shape the range of actors' strategic options...
We analyze the new varieties of state capitalism in the 21st century and explore their implications in terms of both strategic and governance outcomes. We begin by discussing how the current theoretical perspectives conceptualize state-owned enterprises' strategic behavior. Then we introduce a stylized distinction between four broad, new varieties...
Prior empirical research finds positive, negative and neutral relationships between family involvement in business and firm performance. We argue that some of the challenges that have plagued empirical research in this field are related to the measurement of family involvement in business. Real-world family firms are not binary entities. Rather, th...
Ten countries have established quotas for female representation on publicly traded corporate and/or state-owned enterprise boards of directors, ranging from 33 to 50 %, with various sanctions. Fifteen other countries have introduced non-binding gender quotas in their corporate governance codes enforcing a “comply or explain” principle. Countless ot...
White-collar crimes are illegal and unethical actions by agents of an organization. In this paper, we address two related research questions concerning white-collar crime—how did the language of white-collar crime evolve? And how did this language co-evolve with the investigation of white-collar crime? Building on research on institutional work, we...
This article investigates stock market responses to different constellations of firm-level corporate governance mechanisms by focusing on foreign initial public offerings (IPOs) in the United States. We build on sociology-grounded research on financial market behavior and use a nested legitimacy framework to explore US investor perceptions of forei...