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Julian Franks has studied corporate governance with reference to international experiences. He has revealed that free-rider problems in the dispersed ownership model (large corporations with many small shareholders) generate dysfunctional outcomes; concentrated ownership models (such as family businesses) fare better. Activist investors have a role to play, and corporate governance practices should reflect this. Via the Corporate Governance Centre at LBS he has conveyed these key evidence-based messages to business leaders and regulators in the United Kingdom and elsewhere. In summary: this research has enabled corporate leaders to make better governance decisions and has alerted regulators to the governance risks which require most scrutiny.
Research by Ferreira and colleagues at LSE shows that a gradual approach to gender-balanced boards based on matching of skills to needs is more effective than the imposition of quotas. The impact of this research has been achieved by engaging with practitioners and regulators in formal evidence-based governance debates and consultations. LSE research has informed the debate on how to best achieve gender diversity and played a central part in the UK Government's decision not to impose gender quotas but instead to endorse a self-regulation regime, a position which is gathering support in the EU as well.
The funding of innovative SMEs is widely recognised to suffer from market failures and has been an area of policy concern since the 1930s. Sussex research has contributed significantly to understanding the underlying causes of these market failures, particularly for innovative firms in the UK and EU. It has placed stronger emphasis, than was the case in the past, on addressing demand -, rather than supply-side constraints (caused by the limited number of UK firms capable of generating commercial returns). This enables it to contribute towards the design and implementation of more effective equity support.
Research by Prof Iraj Hashi has had a significant impact on the development of policies on Employee Financial Participation (EFP) by the institutions of the European Union. The impact has been achieved through the preparation of two major reports for DG V (Employment), a study for the European Parliament, and a study for the European Commission (currently underway). As a result of these works, various institutions of the EU have proposed policies to encourage employee participation in the results of their work (in the form of share ownership, profit sharing, share options, etc.). Most recently, the Commission has issued a call for tender for a "Pilot Project - Promotion of Employee Ownership and Participation", and has also included EFP as an element of its Action Plan to reform European company law and corporate governance. These reports and the associated policy proposals have been informed by, and in turn facilitated, the research by Prof Hashi; in particular, Hashi (1998), Hashi and Hashani (2011) and Hashi and Hashani (2013).
Our research on corporate governance theory and frameworks provided the basis for a Knowledge Transfer Partnership between Leeds Business School and the Rugby Football League (RFL) to develop a corporate governance framework for the RFL and its associated professional clubs and charitable foundations, which helped to promote more effective governance practice, leading to improvements in financial and operational sustainability. A diagnostic tool was developed on the basis of the underpinning research, reflecting a dynamic, processual view of governance with complex stakeholder interrelationships, thus helping to improve governance systems and processes and awareness of, and accountability in, the clubs' stakeholder environment.
Loughborough University research into financial regulation has had a significant and enduring influence on how regulatory bodies are structured and how they use economic analysis. This work has been credited with shaping the groundbreaking culture and methodology of financial regulation in the UK with respect to consumer protection, recognising the special characteristics of retail financial products and contracts and applying cost-benefit and regulatory impact analysis in decision-making processes. It has also played a major role in redefining financial regulatory structure in the UK and South Africa. In addition, the research is now being used to help develop and guide approaches to ensuring high standards of bank regulation and consumer protection across the EU through the European Banking Authority's Banking Stakeholder Group.
Research within the School's Centre for Research on Globalisation and Economic Policy (GEP) on the characteristics of UK exporting and non-exporting firms has been used by the UK's trade promotion agencies, UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) and the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) to improve the design and effectiveness of the firm-specific policies they use to increase export performance.
The research has been used to provide an evidence base against which to judge the rationale for and effectiveness of export promotion and to develop new schemes. The research has led to a better understanding of the different types of barriers to exporting faced by different types of UK firms, and the role of previous export experience in lowering these barriers. This evidence base has both informed the design of the UK's export policy and has helped to fashion a specific, new trade promotion scheme (Gateways to Global Growth) launched by the UK in 2009.