Corporate governance, competition, and political parties: explaining corporate governance change in Europe
The corporate governance systems of continental Europe have traditionally been quite different to those of the liberal market economies (e.g. the US and the UK). Company ownership has been dominated by incumbent blockholders, with a relatively minor role for minority shareholders and institutional investors. Business strategy has focused on the achievement of social stability - taking into account the interests of a broad group stakeholders - rather than the maximisation ofshareholder value. However, since the mid-1990s, European corporations have adopted many of the characteristics of the Ang