Three cases of compliance with governance regulation: an organizational learning perspective

This study examines how organizations manage to comply with governance regulation. More specifically, it seeks to make sense of the processes they use to ensure such compliance. Semi-structured interviews with governance actors were held at three large organizations, and the resulting data were interpreted in light of the organizational learning perspective that emerged during the analysis. This study contributes to the governance literature by delving into the organizational black box of the internal workings of governance mechanisms implemented to comply with regulation, and by providing insights into the benefits that can result from such compliance. Indeed, results reveal that organizations took actions to foster synergy between compliance-related and strategy-related dimensions of governance and to add value to the processes. This suggests that compliance with governance regulation can help organizations enhance business strategy with better risk management, control, and accountability through organizational learning. This research also extends the organizational learning literature since it is situated in a regulatory compliance context. It adds to this literature by illustrating how organizational learning can result from compliance activities that enhance strategy. As results provide evidence about specific governance practices, they will benefit board members, top managers, and internal auditors in organizations around the world that are subject to considerable regulation. Findings are particularly relevant for newly listed firms dealing with governance regulation for the first time, and for cross-listed firms.