Corporate Governance in Business Groups

Whether a large business group is multinational or not, it needs to form distinct governance mechanisms in order to govern its affiliates. In this chapter, certain issues related to these mechanisms are addressed. The chapter identifies horizontal and vertical governance mechanisms that are usually found in business groups and stresses that business groups also experience significant governance problems, such as mutual entrenchment and cross-subsidization. The chapter also examines in detail the way governance structures and related governance outcomes differ among state-owned, family-controlled, and widely held business groups.