The 9th annual conference of the International Corporate Governance Society will be held at IE
University in Madrid, Spain, from Saturday 21 to Sunday 22 October 2023. As this has been the case
for past conferences, the 2023 conference will act as a forum for academics, policymakers, and
practitioners from across the globe to share and debate the latest corporate governance research
findings and best practices.

The increasingly visible consequences of climate change and the economic fallout from the pandemic
and the Ukraine-Russia war have moved sustainable corporate governance to the forefront.
Sustainable corporate governance is not only about making businesses more sustainable from an
environmental point of view, but it is also about ensuring that they operate in harmony with the
broader economic and social system. In turn, businesses should be run in such a way to avoid future
waves of corporate failures. This would require a shift towards business models focusing on the
creation of long-term rather than short-term value.

While some argue that businesses should focus on the maximization of shareholder value and that
the costs of making businesses sustainable may be prohibitive, there is an increasing consensus that
the creation of long-term shareholder value is not incompatible with looking after the interests of a
broader range of stakeholders. Ultimately, the resilience to shocks and the long-term survival of a
company will benefit both its shareholders and other stakeholders.

The two confirmed keynote speakers are Professor Amy Hillman, Rusty Lyon Chair of Strategy at
Arizona State University, and Professor Zacharias Sautner, Professor of Finance at Frankfurt School
of Finance & Management.

We welcome submissions that relate to the following conference tracks:
• TRACK A: Sustainable Corporate Governance. How can we make businesses more sustainable and
the role of corporate governance in achieving this transition? This would include submissions
studying the enablers and inhibitors of this transition, such as specific characteristics of the
members of the board of directors.
Chairs: Christine Shropshire (Arizona State University), Oguzhan Karakas (Cambridge University)

• TRACK B: Board Dynamics and Strategic Leadership. In this track, we explore the roles of boards
of directors concentrating in particular on diversity and group dynamics in boards. Studies that
examine the role of women and internationals on board are particularly welcome. The track will
also feature behavioural studies about board members and their interfaces to CEOs and the
executive team.
Chairs: Ryan Krause (Texas Christian University), Taekjin Shin (San Diego State University), Jie Chen
(University of Leeds)

• TRACK C: Ownership. This track explores the antecedents and outcomes of different types of
owners. The track also encourages papers on non-traditional means of raising capital that give
rise to ownership changes, such as equity crowdfunding and other forms of alternative
investment, and their implications for corporate governance.
Chairs: Nikos Kavadis (Copenhagen Business School), Daniele Macciocchi (University of Miami)

• TRACK D: External Corporate Governance Mechanisms. This track seeks to understand how firms’
strategic objectives and outcomes are influenced by external governance mechanisms, including
(but not limited to) the role of external auditors, cultural norms, and media. It also welcomes
studies that investigate how these external factors are related to the firms’ nexus of contracts
and incentive structures.
Chairs: Kurt Desender (Universidad Carlos III de Madrid), Jean Chen (University of Macau)

• TRACK E: Self Governance and Internal Corporate Governance Mechanisms. This track focuses on
company goals and the alignment of these goals with managers. Topics can include (but are not
restricted to) goals and executive compensation arrangements, particular goals structures or
family firms and their consequences for corporate governance, socially-responsible behaviour
and executives’ internal moral compass that translates into ethically-sound decisions and actions.
Chairs: Daniel Zyung (Southern Methodist University), Cristina Cruz (IE University)

• TRACK F: Comparative Corporate Governance. This track explores corporate governance in a
(de)globalizing economy. We want to discuss how transnational non-governmental institutions
shape corporate governance across nations. Furthermore, it is interesting and useful to compare
governance practices across national economies. Multi-level governance interactions between
multiple governance environments are also considered.
Chairs: Siri Terjesen (Florida Atlantic University), Krista Lewellyn (Florida Southern University),
Jana Oemichen (University of Mainz)

The conference will be held at IE Tower in Madrid’s financial district. IE Tower was built in accordance
with the values of IE University, which are sustainability, technology and innovation,
entrepreneurship, diversity, and a focus on the humanities. Submissions can be made between 1
March and 30 June 2023. The pre-conference paper development workshop (PDW) will be held on
Friday 20 October 2023.
Papers can be submitted: https://www.conftool.net/icgs2023/
More information will be made available soon via the ICGS website
(https://icgsociety.org/) and the conference website (https://www.ie.edu/icgs2023/).

Conference Programme Co-chairs
Patricia Gabaldón, Marc Goergen, Juan-Pedro Gómez (all at IE University)