| dc.description.abstract | This study seeks to investigate corporate governance practices in 27 Kenyan family ftrms publicly quoted at the Nairobi Stock Exchange. Corporate governance, the mechanisms by which companies are controlled and directed, is a complex subject impacted by a number of factors including manager relations, investor relations, board structures and practices, management compensation and capital structure. Family enterprises are companies in which a majority of the capital is held by one, or few, families connected from ties of relative, affinity or solid alliances.
The study was administered through a census survey that targeted an identiftable number of family ftrms whose corporate governance characteristics can be measured. The data was collected through questionnaires and analyzed both qualitatively and quantitatively. The analysed data was presented in tables, bar graphs and pie charts. The objective was to assess the general framework of corporate governance practices; identifying best practices and help family companies assess the extent of compliance to corporate governance.
The study found that the governance of family firms seems to be consistent with the guidelines suggested by the stewardship theory and that their boards are characterized by a relative presence of family members. The study also found out that the corporate governance practices used in developed countries are not directly applicable in developing economies because of political, economic, technological and cultural differences.
According to the researcher's fmdings, the researcher then recommends that the Kenyan corporate governance regulators and policy makers need to assist in developing policies that support the importance of corporate governance; further development of speciftc guidelines for appointments of boards of directors should be implemented and finally, there should adequate disclosure to protect shareholders rights, minority interest and independent directors. | en_US |
