WHO ARE CORPORATIONS RUN FOR?: EXAMINING LONGITUDINAL TRENDS IN CORPORATE GOVERNANCE MODELS USING AUTOMATED CONTENT ANALYSIS

Abstract

Prevailing literature has well documented how changes in the economic, social, and political environments of the 1970s contributed to the emergence of shareholder value theory as the premier form of corporate governance for public corporations. However, there has been limited research on its prevalence today in light of advocacy for the adoption of corporate social responsibility. The current study utilizes text data from publications in prominent academic journals and business media outlets to examine how longitudinal trends in the usage of these corporate governance models have changed over time, as well as what sentiments and topics they express. Findings did not show conclusive evidence for the decline of shareholder value theory but did establish that it is associated more with negative sentiments. On the other hand, corporate social responsibility was found to be used more frequently, especially in academic articles, but was accompanied by sentiments of uncertainty.