Global Perspectives on Entrepreneurship: Public and Corporate Governance

• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/corg.12061
• Author: Rajesh Chakrabarti,Douglas Cumming
• Published date: 01 March 2014
• Date: 01 March 2014

Editorial

Global Perspectives on Entrepreneurship: Public

and Corporate Governance

Douglas Cumming and Rajesh Chakrabarti

Entrepreneurial activity, or the generation of value

through the creation or expansion of economic activity

in terms of new products, processes, or markets, takes place

in both smaller enterprises and larger, more established

enterprises. Governments in both developed and develop-

ing countries are in agreement that entrepreneurship and

innovation will facilitate economic growth and determine

the competitive advantage of nations in the twenty-f‌irst

century (Audretsch, 2007; Chavis, Klapper, & Love, 2011).

Massive amounts of resources are expanded to foster both

innovation and entrepreneurial activity in these countries

(Estrin, Mickiewicz, & Stephan, 2013; World Bank, 2004). It is

therefore crucial that public policy matters are able to dis-

tinguish between supporting entrepreneurial activity versus

merely supporting small- and medium-sized enterprises.

Also, it is crucial to understand how public governance and

corporate governance eff‌iciently work and intersect to

enable entrepreneurial activity.

On April 25–26, 2013, the Schulich School of Business,

York University, hosted a conference on Global Perspectives

on Entrepreneurship: Public and Corporate Governance,

which was sponsored by Industry Canada and York Univer-

sity and organized in conjunction with Corporate Governance:

An International Review. There were over 80 submissions to

the conference, of which the best 15 papers were presented

at the conference, and six of which appear in this special

issue of Corporate Governance: An International Review. There

were special presentations from Shaker Zahra (University of

Minnesota Carlson School of Management) and Craig

Doidge (University of Toronto Rotman School of Manage-

ment). In addition, the conference featured a panel session

on public and corporate governance in entrepreneurial

fundraising. The participants in the panel session included

Craig Asano, Founder and Executive Director, National

Crowdfunding Association of Canada, Brian Koscak, Chair,

Exempt Markets Dealers Association of Canada, and

Partner, Cassels Brock & Blackwell LLP, and James Turner,

Vice Chair, Ontario Securities Commission.

This special issue begins with a conceptual article pre-

pared by Shaker Zahra on “Public and Corporate Gover-

nance and Young Global Entrepreneurial Firms.” Professor

Zahra provides very clear def‌initions and descriptions of the

difference between public governance and corporate gover-

nance. At a broad level, public governance refers to the

national institutional setting that shapes rules and resource

allocation, while corporate governance refers to rules and

systems pertaining to stakeholders, especially shareholders’

interests. Professor Zahra notes that there has been a com-

parative dearth of research on corporate governance among

younger companies active in international markets. Profes-

sor Zahra analyzes public and corporate governance issues

for such f‌irms. In particular, he pays special attention to the

complex issues that arise from information asymmetry

between insiders and outsiders, and among these compa-

nies’ owner-managers. Professor Zahra shows conditions

under which the interplay between public and corporate

governance facilitate the creation of entrepreneurial wealth

and improve social welfare.

In this introductory editorial, we brief‌ly describe the six

papers that appear in this special issue and how they f‌it into

a broader literature on public and corporate governance.

Three of the papers are focused on corporate governance,

while the other three are focused on public governance. All

of the papers consider the intersection of public and corpo-

rate governance.At the end of this introductory editorial, we

discuss managerial and policy implications associated with

these studies as well as related future research questions.

CORPORATE GOVERNANCE IN

ENTREPRENEURIAL FIRMS

Prior evidence is consistent with the view that the real

effects of entrepreneurial activity are best realized in con-

junction with effective governance. For instance, empirical

evidence from around the world shows that improved

73

Corporate Governance: An International Review, 2014, 22(2): 73–76

© 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd

doi:10.1111/corg.12061