Information Flows, Organizational Structure, and Corporate Governance

Information Flows, Organizational Structure, and Corporate Governance

Nadya Malenko

Series number :

Serial Number: 
841/2022

Date posted :

August 28 2022

Last revised :

April 30 2023
SSRN Share

Keywords

  • information flows • 
  • communication • 
  • organizational design • 
  • Corporate governance • 
  • allocation of authority • 
  • centralized decision-making • 
  • Delegation • 
  • board of directors • 
  • shareholder activism

This survey provides an overview of theoretical and empirical research on information flows in corporations.

It highlights key frictions preventing effective information flows and discusses how organizational structure and corporate governance can alleviate these frictions, focusing on three broad topics: 1) organizational design, such as the choice between centralized and decentralized decision-making; 2) composition and decision-making process of the board of directors; and 3) communication among shareholders and between shareholders and management in the context of shareholder activism. The goal of the survey is to draw connections between theoretical and empirical work and point out directions for future research.

Authors