Strong Managers, Strong Owners: Corporate Governance and Strategy

The family firm preparing generational change, the partnership that welcomes new partners, and the shareholders of a firm that chooses to go public are making decisions that will have an impact on strategy and management. Conversely, a change in strategy such as a move to diversify or a decision to take on more risk in a business can make the firm more attractive to some shareholders and less attractive to others and is therefore not ownership neutral. Opening the black box of agency theory, Korine and Gomez show how management and ownership interact to shape the strategy of the firm. In their view, the critical question to ask is not what is the best strategy, but rather, who is the strategy for? With numerous detailed examples, Strong Managers, Strong Owners is an invaluable resource for company owners, board members and executives, as well as their advisors in strategy and governance.

Table of Contents:
Foreword Hwee Hua Lim; Introduction; Part I. Changes in the Identity of Ownership and Management: 1. Change in ownership; 2. Change in management; Concluding remarks; Part II. Changes in the Form of Ownership and Organization: 3. Change of legal structure; 4. Change of organizational structure; Concluding remarks; Part III. Changes in Strategy: 5. Corporate and business strategies; 6. Despite failure, NO change in ownership, management, or strategy; 7. Because of success, reinforcement of ownership, management, and strategy; Concluding remarks; Part IV. Implications for Corporate Governance: 8. The board of directors; Conclusion – strategy for whom?; Index.

About the Author :
Harry Korine is an Adjunct Professor of Strategy at INSEAD. As an educator, consultant and public speaker, he engages with executives, board members and owners to address questions of strategy development and long-term value generation, especially in a multinational context. Together with Pierre-Yves Gomez, he is the author of Entrepreneurs and Democracy: A Political Theory of Corporate Governance (Cambridge University Press, 2008). Pierre-Yves Gomez is Professor of Strategic Management at EM Lyon Business School (France) and director of the French Corporate Governance Institute. His research focuses on the political foundations of corporate governance, as well as collective utility functions and their application to strategy and governance. He has published several award-winning books in French and English.

Review :
'Strong Managers, Strong Owners raises critical questions that have not been asked before. Corporation mythology is clear that the enterprise is run for the benefit of the owners. The circumstances now confronting us require attention to the dispersion and confusion of shareholdings. We are approaching a time when nobody really knows who are the owners of the large publicly traded companies. Everyone needs to understand that the assumptions behind our conclusions about corporate governance are no longer valid - this book is a splendid entrée into the questions of the new time. You should read it.' Robert A. G. Monks, shareholder activist, author and co-founder of Institutional Shareholder Services, Lens Investment Management, Lens Governance Advisors and The Corporate Library 'To those who think corporate governance is primarily or even exclusively a legal concern of listed firms, Korine and Gomez provide persuasive evidence to the contrary. Strong Managers, Strong Owners describes the tight connection between corporate governance and strategy and shows how family firms, partnerships, and even start-ups can benefit from considering how the different interests of managers and owners influence the direction of the firm.' Martin Hilb, Institute for Leadership and Human Resource Management (IFPM), University of St Gallen 'A must-read for business leaders. This book tackles the challenge of managing the evolution of business and the inevitable tension between those who own the company and those who manage it. The inflexion point is the board. Accepting that change is a constant becomes a requirement to make strategic decisions.' Luis Novella, Chairman, Institute of Directors in France, and Managing Director, Invyctus Group