Corporate governance: an organisational attribute or an academic exercise?

This conceptual paper provides an overview of the theory and application to the practice of corporate governance. The evolution of corporate governance theory and definitions are described, taking an international perspective. The paper offers insights at a national level into governance experiences within the UK, Ireland, and Cyprus. The paper reviews four classic corporate governance theories most often cited in the literature. Each theory is critically discussed and applied at an organisational level. The authors introduce language theory, sociology, psychology and organisational theory as a means of uncovering the changing governance epistemologies as corporate governance is more than economic and legal theories. A summary table outlining key foci, actors, features and critique of each model is provided so as to enable the reader easily identify each in practice. The paper concludes with recommendations for future research.