Corporate Governance in an Emergent Economy: A case of Ghana

The complexities and dynamics in the global environment coupled with recent issues in respect of the economic meltdown have a huge impact on emergent economies. Emergent economies overtly presented fresh markets for worldwide corporate organizations in the 1990s and the early part of the 21st century. However, these economies, in spite of their worldwide contribution, face some challenges pertaining to good corporate governance practices. Therefore, it is extremely important for studies on corporate governance practices to be undertaken in these economies. The purpose of this paper is to examine corporate governance practices in Ghana. A qualitative case study approach is used to get hold of an in-depth understanding of corporate governance practices from four large publicly-listed corporate organizations on the Ghana Stock Exchange. It is found that large shareholders actively exert control over corporate decisions. Also, when large shareholders fully involve themselves in corporate decision-making processes, boards appear to be advisory bodies. However, on a passive side, evidence shows that in the absence of controlling shareholders that closely monitor and control the activities of management, a large number of independent non-executive directors on boards assist in board control function.