IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/ozechr/v62y2022i3p290-312.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Above board? Interlocking directorates and corporate contagion in 1980s Australia

Author

Listed:
  • Claire E. F. Wright

Abstract

The 1980s were an outrageous time in Australia's business history. This paper re‐examines this era of misconduct, assessing the role of interlocking directorates for corporate governance of diversified business groups. Professional interlocked executives—those with professional training, executive status and mobility between member firms—enabled the takeover culture of the time, and allowed managers to ignore promised strategic benefits and redirect associated firms towards speculative share ownership. These results demonstrate the importance of board independence for corporate governance, and the way that expertise has been weaponised within managerial capitalism to encourage trust in risky and exploitative corporate structures.

Suggested Citation

  • Claire E. F. Wright, 2022. "Above board? Interlocking directorates and corporate contagion in 1980s Australia," Australian Economic History Review, Economic History Society of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 62(3), pages 290-312, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:ozechr:v:62:y:2022:i:3:p:290-312
    DOI: 10.1111/aehr.12251
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/aehr.12251
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/aehr.12251?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Geoffrey C. Kiel & Gavin J. Nicholson, 2003. "Board Composition and Corporate Performance: how the Australian experience informs contrasting theories of corporate governance," Corporate Governance: An International Review, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 11(3), pages 189-205, July.
    2. Okazaki, Tetsuji & Sawada, Michiru, 2011. "Interbank Networks in Prewar Japan: Structure and Implications Interbank Networks in Prewar Japan: Structure and Implications," PRIMCED Discussion Paper Series 21, Institute of Economic Research, Hitotsubashi University.
    3. B. Tomka, 2001. "Interlocking Directorates of Banks and Industrial Companies in Hungary at the Beginning of the Twentieth Century," Business History, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 43(1), pages 25-42.
    4. Mizruchi, Mark S., 2013. "The Fracturing of the American Corporate Elite," Economics Books, Harvard University Press, number 9780674072992, Spring.
    5. Carnegie, Garry D. & O’Connell, Brendan T., 2014. "A longitudinal study of the interplay of corporate collapse, accounting failure and governance change in Australia: Early 1890s to early 2000s," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 25(6), pages 446-468.
    6. Wright, Claire & Ville, Simon & Merrett, David, 2019. "Quotidian Routines: The Cooperative Practices of a Business Elite," Enterprise & Society, Cambridge University Press, vol. 20(4), pages 826-860, December.
    7. Christopher L. Colvin, 2014. "Interlocking directorates and conflicts of interest: the Rotterdamsche Bankvereeniging, M�ller & Co. and the Dutch financial crisis of the 1920s," Business History, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 56(2), pages 314-334, March.
    8. Brian L. Connelly & Jonathan L. Johnson & Laszlo Tihanyi & Alan E. Ellstrand, 2011. "More Than Adopters: Competing Influences in the Interlocking Directorate," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 22(3), pages 688-703, June.
    9. Franziska Handschumacher & Maximilian Behrmann & Willi Ceschinski & Remmer Sassen, 2019. "Do board interlocks support monitoring effectiveness?," Management Research Review, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 42(11), pages 1278-1296, October.
    10. Qinlin Zhong & Yuanyuan Liu & Chun Yuan, 2017. "Director interlocks and spillover effects of board monitoring: evidence from regulatory sanctions," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 57(5), pages 1605-1633, December.
    11. Erik Devos & Andrew Prevost & John Puthenpurackal, 2009. "Are Interlocked Directors Effective Monitors?," Financial Management, Financial Management Association International, vol. 38(4), pages 861-887, December.
    12. Tetsuji Okazaki & Michiru Sawada, 2012. "Interbank networks in prewar Japan: structure and implications," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 21(2), pages 463-506, April.
    13. Franziska Handschumacher & Maximilian Behrmann & Willi Ceschinski & Remmer Sassen, 2019. "Do board interlocks support monitoring effectiveness?," Management Research Review, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 42(11), pages 1278-1296, October.
    14. Dritsas, Margarita & Eigner, Peter & Ottosson, Jan, 1996. "‘Big business’ networks in three interwar economies: Austria, Greece and Sweden1," Financial History Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 3(2), pages 175-195, October.
    15. Szymon Kaczmarek & Satomi Kimino & Annie Pye, 2014. "Interlocking directorships and firm performance in highly regulated sectors: the moderating impact of board diversity," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 18(2), pages 347-372, May.
    16. Tim Crumplin, 2007. "Opaque Networks: Business and community in the Isle of Man, 1840-1900," Business History, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 49(6), pages 780-801.
    17. Musacchio, Aldo & Read, Ian, 2007. "Bankers, Industrialists, and their Cliques: Elite Networks in Mexico and Brazil during Early Industrialization," Enterprise & Society, Cambridge University Press, vol. 8(4), pages 842-880, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Abdelrhman Yusuf & Mohamed Sherif, 2020. "All on Board? New Evidence on Board Characteristics from a Large Panel of UK FTSE Indices," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(13), pages 1-26, July.
    2. Abdelbadie, Roba Ashraf & Salama, Aly, 2019. "Corporate governance and financial stability in US banks: Do indirect interlocks matter?," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 104(C), pages 85-105.
    3. Esteves, Rui & Geisler Mesevage, Gabriel, 2019. "Social Networks in Economic History: Opportunities and Challenges," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    4. Lychakov, Nikita, 2018. "Government-made bank distress: Industrialisation policies and the Russian financial crisis of 1899-1902," QUCEH Working Paper Series 2018-11, Queen's University Belfast, Queen's University Centre for Economic History.
    5. Wen, Fenghua & Lin, Diyue & Hu, Lei & He, Shaoyi & Cao, Zhiling, 2023. "The spillover effect of corporate frauds and stock price crash risk," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 57(C).
    6. Yi Zhao & Jegoo Lee, 2023. "How does board interlock network matter for sustainability? A social learning approach to corporate environmental performance," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(8), pages 5889-5908, December.
    7. Ron Boschma & Emanuela Marrocu & Raffaele Paci, 2016. "Symmetric and asymmetric effects of proximities. The case of M&A deals in Italy," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 16(2), pages 505-535.
    8. Suzette Viviers & Nadia Mans-Kemp, 2019. "Director overboardedness in South Africa: evaluating the experience and busyness hypotheses," International Journal of Disclosure and Governance, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 16(1), pages 68-81, March.
    9. Andersen, Angela & Garel, Alexandre & Gilbert, Aaron & Tourani-Rad, Alireza, 2022. "Social capital, human capital, and board appointments," Global Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 54(C).
    10. Santiago Kopoboru, 2013. "Using interlocks as a corporate strategy: a descriptive analysis of the Spanish case," Working Papers 13.01, Universidad Pablo de Olavide, Department of Business Organization and Marketing (former Department of Business Administration).
    11. Yang, Chang & Chen, Xin & Chen, Xian, 2021. "Vertical interlock and stock price crash risk," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    12. Chen Chen & David K. Ding & William R. Wilson, 2021. "The Old Boys Club in New Zealand Listed Companies," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 14(8), pages 1-21, July.
    13. Richard A. Benton, 2017. "The Decline of Social Entrenchment: Social Network Cohesion and Board Responsiveness to Shareholder Activism," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 28(2), pages 262-282, April.
    14. Anup Banerjee & Mattias Nordqvist & Karin Hellerstedt, 2020. "The role of the board chair—A literature review and suggestions for future research," Corporate Governance: An International Review, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(6), pages 372-405, November.
    15. Tarek Roshdy Gebba & Mohamed Gamal Aboelmaged, 2016. "Corporate Governance of UAE Financial Institutions: A Comparative Study between Conventional and Islamic Banks," Journal of Applied Finance & Banking, SCIENPRESS Ltd, vol. 6(5), pages 1-7.
    16. Sylvie Héroux & Mélanie Roussy, 2020. "Three cases of compliance with governance regulation: an organizational learning perspective," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 24(2), pages 449-479, June.
    17. Pascal Nguyen & Nahid Rahman & Alex Tong & Ruoyun Zhao, 2016. "Board size and firm value: evidence from Australia," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 20(4), pages 851-873, December.
    18. Vincenzo Scafarto & Federica Ricci & Elisabetta Magnaghi & Salvatore Ferri, 2021. "Board structure and intellectual capital efficiency: does the family firm status matter?," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 25(3), pages 841-878, September.
    19. Marcel Hanegraaff & Arlo Poletti, 2021. "The Rise of Corporate Lobbying in the European Union: An Agenda for Future Research," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 59(4), pages 839-855, July.
    20. Md. Kamrul Islam & Sugandha Mobin Sharna, 2022. "Do board characteristics affect financial performance of firms? An empirical study on Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) listed Insurance Companies of Bangladesh," International Journal of Science and Business, IJSAB International, vol. 14(1), pages 1-10.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bla:ozechr:v:62:y:2022:i:3:p:290-312. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/oznzsea.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.