Public corporate governance at the municipality level: how transparent are government owned organizations in Switzerland?

Several international guidelines on public corporate governance of government owned organizations articulate standards and best practices regarding the transparency of corporate reporting. The OECD and other international... [ view full abstract ]

Several international guidelines on public corporate governance of government owned organizations articulate standards and best practices regarding the transparency of corporate reporting. The OECD and other international organizations, e.g. IFAC/CIPFA, that promote such guidelines view transparent reporting as an important means to secure good governance.
However, it is not quite clear under which circumstances government owned organizations provide transparent reporting and information regarding their core activities, board structure, and management instruments employed. Therefore, the main research question is: which kind of government owned organizations and which organizational and environmental variables affect the level of transparency.
Research on government owned organizations is still in its infancy. Very few studies exist to date that focus on these types of organizations and on public corporate governance in general and on transparency and reporting in particular. This paper sets out to shed light on this neglected area of inquiry.
The analysis rests on an extensive data gathering exercise that includes more than 500 organizations in which Swiss municipalities are participating (local government controlled entities). The dataset includes variables on ownership strategy, board composition and several management instruments (such as risk analysis, stakeholder management, and compliance systems).