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This paper aims to examine current research trends into corporate governance and to propose a different dynamic, humanistic approach based on individual purpose, values and psychology.

The paper reviews selected literature to analyse the assumptions behind research into corporate governance and uses a multi‐disciplinary body of literature to present a different theoretical approach based at the level of the individual rather than the organisation.

The paper shows how the current recommendations of the corporate governance research models could backfire and lead to individual actions that are destructive when implemented in practice. This claim is based on identifying the hidden assumptions behind the principal‐agent model in corporate governance, such as the Hobbesian view and the Homo Economicus approach. It argues against the axiomatic view that shareholders are the owners of the company, and it questions the way in which managers are assessed based either on the corporate share price (the shareholder view) or on a confusing set of measures which include more stakeholders (the stakeholder view), and shows how such a yardstick can be demotivating and put the corporation in danger. The paper proposes a humanistic, psychological approach that uses the individual manager as a unit of analysis instead of the corporation and illustrates how such an approach can help to build better governance.

The paper's limited scope can only outline a conceptual framework, but does not enter into detailed operationalisation.

The paper illustrates the challenges in applying the proposed framework into practice.

The paper calls for the use of an alternative unit of analysis, the manager, and for a dynamic and humanistic approach which encompasses the entirety of a person's cognition, including emotional and spiritual values, and which is as of yet usually not to be found in the corporate governance literature.

This paper aims to undertake a study of national configurational demographics in order to determine the spread of understanding of the chairman's role, performance and contribution.

Qualitative methodology, exploratory in nature through in‐depth interviews and workshop discussion involving 103 UK, US and Australian participants, was undertaken.

The role of chairman is considered as having a distinct effect on board dynamics, role and contribution and the monitoring and support of management. Nine demographic factors are identified as affecting the manner in which the role of chairman is exercised in the UK, USA and Australia.

The findings of this qualitative exploratory study need to be integrated into a quantitative empirical survey in order to ascertain the validity of the results to date.

The two key conclusions highlight the requirement for governance due diligence, examining the financial and competitive strength of the organisation as well as uncovering contextual sensitivities.

Insufficient attention has been given to the role of chairman. The study offers additional insight on how demographic factors influence the shaping and determination of the role of chairman. This paper should be of interest to practitioners, consultants, line managers, board members, chairmen, management academics and business studies students.

This paper seeks to report original research examining how effectively board members of occupational pension trusts administer pension plan assets on behalf of their respective members. The concept of the concerned lay board member (the “prudent person”) is increasingly under attack from the media, government and professional bodies. The proposition is that lay members should be replaced by professionals. Aims to explore the prudence vs professionalism theme through an examination of trustee profile, trustee financial competence and trustee performance effectiveness.

The study adopts demographic theory from the perspective that group demographics are a critical focus of analysis due to their potent impact on organisational outcomes. A qualitative approach was initially pursued in order to capture trustee views which formed the platform for the second quantitative phase of the study.

The study concludes that lay trustees display comparable capacity to professional trustees and emerge as equally able to positively respond to the future challenges facing pension boards.

The study highlights that HR practitioners can make a significant impact on the selection and development of pension board trustees.

Rather than continuing with the unhelpful, historically based distinction between lay and professional pension board trustees, this original study identifies the growing complexities of managing pension trusts, whilst emphasising the capabilities required to pursue innovative investment practice in the future. This paper is likely to be of value to researchers in the areas of board and pension trust performance, fund trustees, actuaries, trust fund managers, employee benefits consultancies, the Treasury and HR professionals.

The purpose of this paper is to highlight the serious limitations of neo‐liberal capitalism and urge for a shift to socialized capital before further economic deterioration leads to a succession of global conflicts.

This conceptual paper adopts a macro perspective in presenting argument on how global, financial markets integration and capital flow liberalization have led to inadequate market and corporate governance measures. The argument is couched in a selected literature and is preceded by a proposed solution – the requirement for socialized capital. An analysis of the nature of socialized capital is outlined and the questions that require attention identified if a paradigm shift from neo‐liberal capitalism is to take place.

The need to urgently shift to a new philosophy of capitalism is overwhelming. Emphasized is that capital needs to adopt a socialised identity and is supported by investment horizons of 30 years or more. It is argued that non‐market (e.g. state, NGOs, civil society) intervention is critical in setting appropriate frameworks within which socialized capital can operate.

This is a theoretical paper, in which questions are raised which require transparent, public debate.

The paper presents the case for a fundamental reconsideration of present day markets, the role of capital and the influence of elites in determining the public good.

The paper aims to conceptualise cosmopolitanism drivers from the third-level power perspective by drawing on the Steven Lukes’ (1974; 2005) theory of power. Additionally, the paper aims to investigate the relationship between entrepreneurs’ cosmopolitan dispositions and habitus, i.e. a pattern of an individual’s demeanour, as it was understood by Pierre Bourdieu.

This conceptual paper makes use of Bourdieu’s framework (habitus) by extending it to the urban cosmopolitan environment and linking habitus to the three-dimensional theory of power and, importantly, to the power’s third dimension – preference-shaping.

Once cosmopolitanism is embedded in the urban area’s values, this creates multiple endless rounds of mutual influence (by power holders onto entrepreneurs via political and business elites and by entrepreneurs onto power holders via the same channels), with mutual benefit. Therefore, mutually beneficial influence that transpires in continuous support of a cosmopolitan city’s environment may be viewed as one of the factors that enhances cosmopolitan cities’ resilience to changes in macroeconomic conditions.

The paper offers a theoretical model that allows to enrich the understanding of the power–cosmopolitanism–entrepreneurship link by emphasising the preference-shaping capacity of power, which leads to embedding cosmopolitanism in societal values. As a value shared by political and business elites, cosmopolitanism is also actively promoted by entrepreneurs through their disposition and habitus. This ensures not only their willing compliance with power and the environment but also their enhancement of favourable business conditions. Entrepreneurs depart from mere acquiescence (to power and its explicit dominance) to practicing their cosmopolitan influence by active preference-shaping.

To examine an under‐researched area, namely the dynamics of chairman‐CEO interrelationship and its effect on the enterprise.

A qualitative methodology has been adopted through in‐depth interviews with chairmen, CEOs and non‐executive directors on the nature of chairman‐CEO interactions and their effects.

Four critical themes form the basis of this paper, chairman's role and contribution, nature of chairman‐CEO relationship, impact of the chairman‐CEO relationship on board effectiveness and the attributes of an effective chairman.

Enhances understanding of the determining influence of the chairman‐CEO dyad on board and organisational performance and also on the influence of formative context on this dyadic interaction.

One of the few studies that has explored through in‐depth interviews the chairman‐CEO relationship.

This paper aims to examine how to further embed CSR thinking and practice into corporations, particularly in emerging markets, by reviewing and drawing similarities between key issues faced by all senior managers, namely ethics, leadership, personal responsibility and trust.

This paper presents a conceptual exploration of global CSR practices using social psychology and overlays this concept with strategic and institutional theory in order to encourage new ways of thinking about CSR adoption, especially in emerging markets.

The paper reveals the importance of shareholder needs on global corporate decision making and applies alternative conceptual models to help businesses to devise better CSR practices and individuals to align their actions to their own values.

This paper strongly argues for blending different theoretical foundations from the management and organization literature in order to draw comparisons between current global CSR practice and the potential for its further adoption in emerging markets.

This paper aims to explain why CSR policies have failed to render organizations more ethical and to propose concepts for using CSR for improving the ethics of organizations.

The paper examines the literature on CSR to compare how gaps in this field of literature are similar to those in leadership theory.

The paper posits that the different logical approaches to CSR are not necessarily ethical since ethics is based on the emotional involvement of the actor. The paper explains that leadership is not a hierarchical position but the emotional ability to follow one's worldview – either the Theta or Lambda worldviews – based on how one perceives his life purpose. The paper shows how to integrate knowledge from leadership theory to render the various CSR policies more ethical.

The paper shows the implication of the need for emotional involvement in research, in general. While the paper indicates a direction for how to integrate CSR policies into organizations, it does not provide examples.

The paper argues for a definition of leadership as the ability to act authentically according to one's worldview, either Theta or Lambda. Based on this context, it provides a better definition of strategy and tactics while arguing that CSR is only applicable to the latter category.

The purpose of this paper is to outline concepts that can build an ethical society.

The paper examines selected literature on citizenship through the lens of theory building‐blocks. It identifies the role of leadership in society and its importance in developing society into an ethical one.

The paper distinguishes between a ruler, which is defined socially as a hierarchical position, and a leader, which describes a personal quality and is embedded in psychology. Leadership is a developmental process, which is based on the type of choice a leader makes, which implies that two good options are always available from which to select. Nevertheless, one should make choices in accordance with his worldview, looking for affiliation (i.e. the Theta worldview), or looking for achievement (i.e. the Lambda worldview). Consequently, the choices leaders make for societal activities have to fit their own worldview. Pursuing the fit between one's worldview and planned societal or citizenship activities ensures that society continuously improves its ethical behaviour. The paper concludes with examining the meaning of citizenship and the state in modern times.

Being a theory‐based exploration, the paper does not provide empirical examples of how this theory might be applied in practice.

The paper fills a gap in explaining why current theories could not provide an ethical theory of citizenship. It follows by distinguishing between the definitions of a ruler and a leader. In addition, it questions the viewing of a state as a long‐term entity.

The aim of this study is an exploration of the behavioural addictions to work (workaholism) and to use of technology (technolophilia), particularly as they overlap in managers' work routines and expectations placed on their employees.

The paper presents a qualitative analysis of managers' comments from structured interviews and focus groups in several countries.

This research culminated in a model of various adaptations to both work pressure and need to use technology in today's business work, including the potential to over‐adapt or lapse into a pattern of addiction.

The consolidation of multi‐disciplinary literature and the framework of the model will serve as a reference points for continuing research on behavioural addictions related to work and technology.

Human resource professionals concerned with employee well‐being can utilize the components of this model to proactively recognize problems and generate remedies. Specific suggestions are offered to offset undesirable adaptations.

This is the first study to focus on the mutually reinforcing addictions to work and use of technology – an important step forward in recognizing the scope of the issue and generating further research with practical application in business world.