Foster Business Library


Corporate Governance Resources


Foster Business Library research guides are aimed at University of Washington students, faculty, and staff, highlighting resources available to them; users not currently affiliated with the university may be unable to access some of these resources.
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Foster Business Library Databases:

The Foster Business Library offers an extensive collection of over fifty databases on its homepage; see under Databases. For a complete list of Foster databases, see the List of All Business Databases. Access to these databases from off campus requires that you first go to the Off-Campus Access button, in the upper right of all library webpages. These resources may not be accessed from off campus except by those with a valid UW Net ID and password. For more information on Foster business databases, click Databases, A-Z. For information on which Foster business databases to use, see the Database Index. For information on accessing Foster databases from off campus, see Database Access. For guidelines on responsible database usage, see Database Usage.

  • Conference Board Business Knowledge Research:   On the Foster Business Library homepage, under List of All Business Databases, at the bottom of the list of Business Databases. This searchable database of full-text research reports, published by the Conference Board, is focused on major issues in business and economics. For a 37-page PDF cumulative index to this database, click here.

    See their 35 reports on the topic Corporate Governance.

  • Social Sciences Citation Index:   Included under Databases on the Foster Business Library homepage. This database "is a multidisciplinary index, with searchable author abstracts, covering the journal literature of the social sciences. It indexes more than 1,725 journals spanning 50 disciplines, as well as covering individually selected, relevant items from over 3,300 of the world's leading scientific and technical journals. It "provides access to current information and retrospective data from 1956 forward."

    A search in this database for Corporate Governance produced over 1,400 references, from a wide variety of sources.

  • JSTOR:   This database may be found under Electronic Journals, which may be found by going to Reference Tools in the left menu, under Find It. JSTOR is a subject searchable index of 360 journals, with full-text backfiles of scholarly journals, some of which date back to the 1800's. Among the collections of scholarly journals on this site are ones for Business and for Economics, encompassing over seventy journals.

    An advanced search, in business journals, for Corporate Governance, produced a list of more than 1,600 articles.

    Web Resources:

    Unlike library databases, Web resources are available wherever you have web access; they do not require that you access them via the Off-Campus Access button, in the upper right of all library webpages. When using web resources, be sure to evaluate the credibility of these resources. For a subject index to web resources, see Business Resources on the Web on the Foster Business Library homepage.

    General:

  • The Corporate Library:   "The Corporate Library was founded in 1999 by Nell Minow and Robert A.G. Monks, long-time partners in Lens Investment Management, co-authors of Power and Accountability (1991, full text available online) and the textbook, Corporate Governance (originally published in 1994, now in its third edition). The Corporate Library is an independent investment research firm providing corporate governance data, analysis & risk assessment tools." See their Governance Research and Corporate Governance Links.

  • Corporate Governance:   "Since 1995 the Corporate Governance site at CorpGov.net has facilitated the ability of institutional and individual shareowners to better govern corporations, enhancing both corporate accountability and the creation of wealth." See their corporate governance News, Stakeholders (links to organizations, journals and other interested parties in corporate finance), Library, Corporate Sites, and Links.

  • Encyclopedia of Corporate Governance:   "Encycogov is an academic encyclopedia about corporate governance intended for use by students, academics, business people and government officials. The vision of Encycogov is to be the most useful and well documented web-based resource about topics that are relevant for the understanding of issues in corporate governance. Encycogov was started in the summer 1999 as an experiment and its development continues." See their General Topics and Specific Topics sections for more information on corporate governance.

  • U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission:   "The primary mission of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission … is to protect investors and maintain the integrity of the securities markets." The S.E.C. "requires public companies to disclose meaningful financial and other information to the public, which provides a common pool of knowledge for all investors to use to judge for themselves if a company's securities are a good investment." See their spotlight on Sarbanes-Oxley Rulemaking and Reports. A search for Corporate Governance retrieved over 7,300 references.

  • Mastering Corporate Governance (Financial times):   This Financial Times special report, dated May 2005, consists of over fifteen lengthy articles on aspects of corporate governance, from a variety of academic experts in the field.

  • Corporate Governance (Washington Post):   This Washington Post special report collects the newspaper's articles on this topic in one section, regularly updated.

  • Scandal, Inc. (CNN Money):   This CNN Money site brings together in one location a host of stories about failures in the area of business ethics, corporate governance, accounting and more, along with a timeline of the more notorious recent abuses.

  • Google Scholar:   This version of Google, Google Scholar, allows searches throughout the full text of a wide range of scholarly literature, including peer-reviewed papers, theses, books, preprints, abstracts and technical reports, from academic publishers, professional societies, preprint repositories and universities. Search results, in some cases, may point to articles or text that can be viewed only for a fee or with a subscription. A search for "Corporate Governance" produced over 39,000 documents.

  • Wikipedia:   This free online user-created and maintained encyclopedia can be a good starting point for an orientation to a topic. See their entry for Corporate Governance.

    Centers & Institutes:

  • Corporate Governance (Cato Institute):   "The Cato Institute was founded in 1977 by Edward H. Crane. It is a non-profit public policy research foundation headquartered in Washington, D.C. The Institute is named for Cato's Letters, a series of libertarian pamphlets that helped lay the philosophical foundation for the American Revolution." As such, the institute is generally opposed to federal government intervention or regulation. See their studies, opinion and commentary on corporate governance.

  • Center for Corporate Governance (Dartmouth College):   "Research at the center focuses on understanding how international differences in capital markets, ownership structures, and legal traditions affect the optimal design of financial contracts. The center also examines potential conflicts between shareholders (as owners of the firm) and other corporate constituents. These conflicts arise in hostile takeovers, bankruptcies, restructuring, the determination of executive compensation, and like situations." See their Research, Commentary and Governance Sites. They also sponsor Conferences on this topic.

  • Center for Corporate Governance (International Chamber of Commerce):   This organization describes itself as "the voice of world business championing the global economy as a force for economic growth, job creation and prosperity" and "the world's only truly global business organization responds by being more assertive in expressing business views." This page is intended to provide a "basic guide to corporate governance for business managers everywhere." See their guide to the basics of corporate governance in the left menu, latest news, Case Studies, Codes & Best Practices, Self-Assessment, and Useful Links.

  • Corporate Governance Institute (San Diego State University):   This San Diego State University institute "is an education and research center dedicated to the study and application of corporate governance principles." See the institute's corporate governance Links.

  • Weinberg Center for Corporate Governance (University of Delaware): "Established in 2000 in the University of Delaware's Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics, the vision of the John L. Weinberg Center for Corporate Governance is to propose progressive changes in corporate structure and management through education and interaction." See their Working Papers.

    See also:

    Associations:

  • Asian Corporate Governance Association:   This organization is "an independent, non-profit membership organisation dedicated to working with investors, companies and regulators in the implementation of effective corporate governance practices throughout Asia. ACGA was founded in 1999 from a belief that corporate governance is fundamental to the long-term development of Asian economies and capital markets." See their Library (with country snapshots, regional analysis, codes and rules, and links) and Annotated Links.

  • The Business Roundtable:   The Business Roundtable is "an association of chief executive officers of leading U.S. corporations with a combined workforce of more than 10 million employees in the United States." One of its eight major task forces and issues is Corporate Governance, with links to their Principles of Corporate Governance (in 41 PDF pages). See also their links to Business Ethics, the S.E.C., and Sarbanes-Oxley.

  • European Corporate Governance Institute:   This institute was "was founded in 2002. It has been established to improve corporate governance through fostering independent scientific research and related activities" and "produces high quality independent scientific research while remaining close to the concerns and interests of corporate, financial and public policy makers. It draws on the expertise of scholars from numerous countries and brings together a critical mass of expertise and interest to bear on this important subject." See their Research, Working Papers, and Codes & Principles.

  • International Corporate Governance Network:   This organization is "an unincorporated, not-for-profit association under the laws of England and Wales" and "makes representations to international bodies such as the OECD, the European Commission and the World Bank, in order to inform the decision-making and influence policies and proposals where they relate to corporate governance." Membership is "open to those who are committed to the development of good corporate governance." See their Issues & Representation and News.

  • Institutional Shareholder Services -- Governance Center:   This organization is "is the world's leading provider of proxy voting and corporate governance services with 20 years of experience. ISS serves more than 1,300 institutional and corporate clients worldwide with its core business — analyzing proxies and issuing informed research and objective vote recommendations for more than 28,000 companies across 115 markets worldwide." They also describe themselves as "the world’s leading corporate governance thought leader." Membership is "open to those who are committed to the development of good corporate governance." See their governance Position Papers, White Papers, and Governance Weekly (and archives). ISS also offers Corporate Governance Quotient ratings for thousands of companies. To find company ratings, go to company profiles on Yahoo! Finance and look for Corporate Governance.

  • National Association of Corporate Directors:   "Founded in 1977, NACD is a national non-profit membership organization dedicated exclusively to serving the corporate governance needs of corporate boards and individual board members. NACD's 15,500 members and customers represent companies ranging from Fortune 100 public companies to small, over-the-counter, closely held, and private firms." See their Governance Resources.

  • O.E.C.D. -- Corporate Governance:   This Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development site offers Statistics, Publications & Documents, and Information by Country on the topic of corporate governance, in particular, with a European orientation.

  • World Council for Corporate Governance:   "The World Council for Corporate Governance was established as a independent, not for profit international network aimed to galvanise good governance practices worldwide." They sponsor regular international conferences on corporate governance. See their Partners, Articles, and Links.

    Foster Business Library Reference Collection:

    The Foster Business Library Reference Collection consists of business handbooks, encyclopedias, dictionaries, and other quick reference tools. It is located behind the Reference Desk in Foster, arranged by call number. Reference materials cannot be checked out; they may only be used in the library.

  • Global, Inc.: an atlas of the multinational corporation.
    This large heavily-illustrated, map-rich paperback covers the foundations of globalization, the history of multinational corporations, global corporations by industry, the impacts of multinational corporations on employment and wages, taxes, technology, capital, culture, environment, and standards, and the governance of multinational corporations.
    Foster Business Library Reference, CALL NUMBER: G1046 .Q1 .G3 2003.

  • The Blackwell encyclopedic dictionary of strategic management.
    This one-volume offers 500 essays (500 to 1,000 words in length) from 180 authorities on current knowledge and thinking about the key concepts of organizational behavior. See Corporate Governance on pages 56 to 58.
    Foster Business Library Reference, CALL NUMBER: HD30.15 .B455 1995 v. 2.

  • The Blackwell encyclopedic dictionary of business ethics.
    Arranged alphabetically by topic from Accounting Ethics to Worker Safety, with an extensive index at the back of this 700-page book. Each of about 300 topics in business ethics is explained in a page or two, with a bibliography at the end of every topic. See Corporate Governance on pages 147 to 148.
    Foster Business Library Reference, CALL NUMBER: HD30.15 .B455 1995, v. 11.

  • The encyclopedia of management.
    This one-volume covers 348 management topics, arranged alphabetically from Activity-Based Costing to Zero-Sum Game. See Corporate Governance on pages 150 to 152 and Boards of Directors on pages 49 to 53.
    Foster Business Library Reference, CALL NUMBER: HD30.15 .E49 2000.

  • Business: the ultimate resource.
    This 2,200-page single volume is "designed to offer a wide range of insights, information, and practical guidance on every aspect of management" via 2.5 million words of text from 200 contributors, with 700 illustrations and 150 maps, in seven major sections including best practice, a management library, business thinkers and management giants, a business dictionary, a world business almanac, and a guide to business sources. See Boardroom Roles, on pages 220 to 221, and Governing the Corporation, on pages 239 to 240.
    Foster Business Library Reference, CALL NUMBER: HD38.15 .B878 2002.

  • Encyclopedia of business ethics and society.
    This five-volume reference work includes 900 essays by scholars, arranged alphabetically by topic, on all aspects of business ethics. See Corporate Governance in volume one, pages 471 to 480.
    Foster Business Library Reference, CALL NUMBER: HF5387 .E53 2008.

  • Financial management and real options.
    This textbook on financial management and corporate finance is aimed at MBA students. See chapter one, on pages 3 to 15, on Financial Management and Corporate Governance, and in particular, section 1-17 on Corporate Governance.
    Foster Business Library Reference, CALL NUMBER: HG4026 .B73 2003.

  • Handbook of alternative assets.
    This handbook covers hedge funds, commodity and managed futures, private equity, credit derivatives, and corporate governance. See section five, for Corporate Governance as an Alternative Investment Strategy, on pages 469 to 487.
    Foster Business Library Reference, CALL NUMBER: HG4530 .A57 2002.

  • A financial history of modern U.S. corporate scandals: from Enron to reform.
    This major reference work covers the stock market bubble and Enron, full disclosure and accountants, corporate governance, and recovery and reform.
    Foster Business Library Reference, CALL NUMBER: HV6769 .M37 2006.

  • Global corruption report.
    This annual publication, published by Transparency International, usually focuses, each year, on a theme, such as corruption and health in the 2006 issue, with reports on this issue in many countries in part one. Part two consists of country reports from nations with corruption problems, with over forty countries included in the 2006 issue (including the U.S.).
    Foster Business Library Reference, CALL NUMBER: JF1081 .G56 2006.

  • Responsibilities of corporate officers & directors under federal securities laws.
    This CCH publication covers all aspects of corporate governance as it relates to directors, including registration-related and fraud liabilities, shareholder actions, corporate reports and proxies, takeovers and tender offers, S.E.C. enforcement, insider ownership, insider sales, etc.
    Foster Business Library Reference, CALL NUMBER: KF1423 .Z9 .R47 2002-2003.

  • Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002: law and explanation.
    This CCH paperback includes the full text of the act as well as its legislative history, additions and amendments, a topical index, and extensive explanatory sections.
    Foster Business Library Reference, CALL NUMBER: KF1423 .Z9 .S27 2002.

  • SEC corporate disclosure reforms: compendium.
    This CCH publication offers guidance on current Form 8-K reporting, CEO/CFO certification of financial statements, and accelerated filing of financial statements, as influenced by Sarbanes-Oxley.
    Foster Business Library Reference, CALL NUMBER: KF1446 .A37 .H36 2004.

  • Sarbanes-Oxley manual: a handbook for the Act and SEC rules.
    This CCH paperback provides a detailed examination of the act and discussion of the "blizzard of SEC rulemaking" that filled in the legislative framework of the act, as well as a legislative history of the act and additional post-act legislation.
    Foster Business Library Reference, CALL NUMBER: KF1446 .H36 2003.

    Foster Business Library Books:

    The Foster Business Library maintains a collection of over 70,000 books on all business topics. To search for materials on all three campuses of the University of Washington, go to the UW Libraries Catalog, in the upper left corner of the Foster Business Library homepage. Search by keyword, title, author, series, etc.

    To limit the results of your search just to materials in the Foster Business Library collection, use the Modify or Limit options at the top of the search results and change the library location to Foster Business Library. Availablity is indicated on the right of each online catalog record. First, note in which collection, within Foster, your materials are in, since the library has ten different Collections, each in a different location and often with differing arrangements. "Available" indicates that the book should be on the shelves under that call number and available for you to check out. "Due" and a date indicates that the book is already checked out to someone and is due back on the date indicated; you can have the "Request/Place Hold" feature to recall the book for your use.

    If the material you want is not in the collections of the University of Washington, you can use the "Search Summit" feature to repeat your search in the combined holdings of over thirty cooperating libraries in Washington and Oregon. Use the "Request This Item" feature in Summit to have books in those library sent here to Foster for you to check out.

    The Foster general stacks collection is located south of the main part of the Foster Business Library, through the two pass-throughs into the basement of Balmer. The arrangement is by call number, from A (at the east end, near the Copy Center) to Z (at the far west end).

    A keyword search for Corporate Governance produced a list of over 460 records in the UW Libraries, including over 160 records in the Foster Business Library. Selected examples include:

    A search for the subject Corporate Governance produced a list of over 380 records in the UW Libraries, including over 140 records in the Foster Business Library.

    Related subjects, and Foster Business Library holdings, include:

    Foster Business Library Corporate Annual Reports:

    The Foster Business Library maintains a collection of several thousand annual reports for hundreds of U.S. and foreign companies. These reports are filed in lateral filing cabinets near the Foster Reference desk under the sign Corporate Annual Reports. Annual reports for companies in an industry can be a valuable source of information about the industry itself. For a list of all the companies in the collection, see the library's Corporate Annual Reports Collection. For an index to corporate annual reports in the collection by industry sector, see the Annual Reports Industry Sector Index. For an index to companies in the collection with headquarters outside the U.S., see Corporate Annual Reports Headquarters Index.

    Use the list of companies to find annual reports for companies accused of violations of corporate governance.

    Foster Business Library Articles:

    Articles in academic journals, magazines, trade periodicals, and newspapers are one of the best sources for any kind of research. While the Foster Business Library offers a large periodicals print collection, comprising over 800 titles, articles are most easily accessed online, 24/7, in such fulltext article databases as EBSCO Business Source Premier, Factiva, LexisNexis Academic, Newsbank Infoweb, and ProQuest Databases. These article databases are available in the library or from off-campus, and provide access to over 10,000 periodicals and millions of articles.

    Library access to most ProQuest databases will terminate at the end of spring quarter 2008, except for ProQuest NewsStand, ProQuest Dissertations and Theses, Historical New York Times, and the Historical Wall Street Journal. For more about this change, see UW Libraries Providing New Databases. After this change, comprehensive article searches should be performed in EBSCO Business Source Premier, Newsbank Infoweb, and ProQuest NewsStand. Also, after this change, links to the articles below will be broken.

    ProQuest Databases:

    This database--actually, a family of over two dozen databases--offers full text articles for over 10,000 publications, including scholarly journals, magazines, trade and industry periodicals, newspapers, and reports on a very wide range of topics. To find articles on specific topics, search by word or phrase by keying your search phrase into the search box--or search for your topic in the Topic Guide.

    Your search terms will be highlighted in red in each article.

    Go to Topics Guide and to the A to Z list of topics to find SUB(Corporate Governance), including over 3,800 articles in scholarly journals, over 1,000 articles in magazines, over 6,900 articles in trade publications, and over 8,000 newspaper articles.

    These large article sets may be made smaller by combining the subject with another subject, a company name, a personal name, etc., as in SUB(Corporate Governance) and SUB(Fraud) or SUB(Corporate Governance) and NA(Wayne Andreas) or SUB(Corporate Governance) and CO(Archer Daniels Midland Co ).

    Some examples include:

    Help:

    3 March 2005; updated 8 May 2008.   Peter Stevens, Business Librarian, stevens@u.washington.edu