Multiple Influences on Corporate Governance Practice in Nigeria: Agents, Strategies and Implications

The literature on the convergence of corporate governance systems across different institutional contexts has often taken the role of 'agents of convergence' for granted. Against this background, we examine the influences of three major agents - international organisations, rating agencies, and local institutions - on the development of corporate governance practices in Nigeria. Findings indicate that the understanding and practice of corporate governance in Nigeria are in a flux and being pulled in multiple directions by the agents studied. This paper provides one of the very few studies utilising sub-Saharan African (Nigerian) data in international business governance research. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.