Originally published as International Journal of Law and Management, Volume 51, Issue 1, 2009

ISBN: 978-1-84855-524-2
E-ISBN: 978-1-84855-525-9

Guest edited by: Professor G J Russouw

This special issue is dedicated to the question, whether there is an underlying ethic of corporate governance that is gaining the upper hand on a global scale, or whether there is a global divergence in this regard. In order to address this question about convergence or divergence concerning the ethics of corporate governance, perspectives from four continents were invited, viz. perspectives from Africa, Asia, Continental Europe and North America. The four perspectives form the core of this special issue of the International Journal of Law and Management. The debate was started in a plenary panel discussion at the Fourth World Congress of the International Society of Business, Economics and Ethics, held in July 2008 in Cape Town, South Africa, and is being continued here with revised and new perspectives that were generated since.

Contents:

The ethics of corporate governance: Crucial distinctions for global comparisons
G.J. Rossouw
The principles, regulations and directives associated with corporate governance constitute a view of the role, responsibilities and obligations of corporations within a given society. Identifying the ethics of a specific corporate governance regime entails making explicit the moral responsibilities and obligations of corporations in society as well as the ethical values associated with these responsibilities and obligations. In order to make meaningful global comparisons between the ethics of corporate governance regimes, a number of vital distinctions need to be made. The purpose of this paper is to introduce and discuss three such distinctions.

The ethics of corporate governance: A (South) African perspective
Andrew West
The purpose of this paper is to review the developments in South African corporate governance since the end of apartheid, with a view to identifying themes and points of convergence and/or divergence with other models.

The ethics of corporate governance: An Asian perspective
Y.R.K. Reddy
Arising from an engrossing and incisive panel discussion at the IV Congress of ISBEE, this paper aims to add the Asian perspective to the debate on ethics of corporate governance.

The ethics of corporate governance: A continental European perspective
Peter Koslowski
The 1990s brought a strong dominance of the US model of corporate governance, setting the continental European model at a disadvantage. Due to the financial crisis, the shareholder dominated Anglo-American model has lost much of its evidence. The purpose of this paper is to try to come to terms with this development.

The ethics of corporate governance: The North American perspective
Stephen B. Young
The paper presents an overview of perspectives on corporate governance grounded in the Common Law legal traditions of the UK and the USA. It further discusses whether that perspective is suitable for global application.

The ethics of corporate governance: Global convergence or divergence?
G.J. Rossouw
The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether there is a global divergence or convergence with regard to the ethics of corporate governance.

About the International Journal of Law and Management

The International Journal of Law and Management is a leading journal addressing all aspects of regulation and law as they impact on organisational development, operations and leadership. Organisations and their leaders operate in an increasingly complex world of emerging regulation across national and international boundaries. The International Journal of Law and Management seeks to acknowledge the dynamics of that environment and provide a platform for articles and contributions to stimulate scholarly debate in the development of law and practice.

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