Above board? Interlocking directorates and corporate contagion in 1980s Australia |
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Authors: | Claire E F Wright |
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Institution: | Management Discipline Group, UTS Business School, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia |
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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. |
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Keywords: | Australian business history business groups corporate governance corporate raiders interlocking directorates |
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