The road not taken: Can Samsung become Wallenberg?

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contribution

Abstract / Description of output

Samsung Group’s corporate governance has been controversial, despite its leading role in the international market. As the group faces an ownership succession issue, Samsung’s corporate governance has become as important as their new products and services. While Samsung has been criticized by the public and shareholders for its corporate governance structure, the largest Swedish business group, the Wallenberg group, has earned praise for its transparent corporate governance system. Samsung has been investigating the Wallenberg group’s corporate governance structure and corporate social responsibility practices since 2003. And since then, media and academics have been interested in looking at similarities and differences of both groups’ corporate governance systems. However, Samsung made no observable change to its corporate governance until a recent announcement of corporate governance reform. This announcement, which hinted at a potential change of Samsung’s no-union policy and family control structure, appears to echo Wallenberg’s corporate governance system; a system that cares about labor participation and socially responsible corporate citizenship. Hence, this paper compares both groups’ corporate governance systems and analyses how Sweden and Korea’s national institutional environments have engaged with both groups’ corporate governance systems. Borrowing from actor-centered comparative institutionalism, we highlight the important role of actors embedded in national institutional environments in shaping the groups’ corporate governance and argue that Samsung will not follow in Wallenberg group’s footsteps due to institutional constraints and management inertia.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationAcademy of Management Annual Meeting Proceedings 2023
PublisherAcademy of Management
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Aug 2023
EventAcademy of Management Annual meeting - Boston, Boston, United States
Duration: 4 Aug 20238 Aug 2023
Conference number: 83
https://aom.org/events/annual-meeting

Publication series

NameAcademy of Management Proceedings
PublisherAcademy of Management
Number1
Volume2023
ISSN (Print)0065-0668
ISSN (Electronic)2151-6561

Conference

ConferenceAcademy of Management Annual meeting
Abbreviated titleAoM
Country/TerritoryUnited States
CityBoston
Period4/08/238/08/23
Internet address

Keywords / Materials (for Non-textual outputs)

  • AOM Annual Meeting Proceedings 2023
  • AOM Boston 2023
  • management history
  • corporate governance
  • comparative institutionalism
  • Chaebol
  • family conglomerates
  • Samsung
  • Wallenberg

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