The Impracticality of an International One Size Fits All Corporate Governance Code of Best Practice

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to review corporate governance literature from an international perspective in terms of having a global code of corporate governance.

Design/methodology/approach – Using a wide ranging literature review, the paper looks at the issue of a global corporate governance code of best practice from legal, corporate ownership structure and financial systems perspectives and the consequent/divergence issues that arise.

Findings – The paper supports the hypothesis that the “one size fits all” approach to corporate governance, particularly the Anglo Saxon model, is not necessarily the right approach from a global perspective. Convergence on fundamental features of shareholder protection, independence of directors and establishment of committees may be the preferred way forward.

Practical implications – The acceptance of a global corporate governance code is limited due to the adaptations in the business environment, investor confidence and corporate successes and failures.

Originality/value – The analysis of the framework provides an interesting paper for corporate governance researchers.