Knowledge level of corporate governance authorities in the Czech Republic

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the knowledge of the authorities of multinational Corporations (MNCs) and their level of education in the Corporate Governance area. Nowadays, this topic of Corporate Governance (CG) is highly discussed. The MNCs supervise the effectiveness of invested capital by CG authorities. An assertion of Principles of CG by OECD is one of the ways how to gain a competitive advantage in the globalizing business environment. This paper reflects the need to examine how MNC are able to hold their function in the supervisory boards or in the management board of these companies, due to a disposing capacity of necessary knowledge in the field of CG. The pilot research was focused on the following hypothesis: Most members of Supervisory Boards or Management Board in MNCs have an adequate education in CG area. This research was conducted in the selected branch offices of MNC - several stock companies with a foreign participation in the Czech Republic through the questionnaire consisting of two multiple-choice questions and eight ranking questions. The data collection took place since February 2011 to April 2011. The gained data have been confronted with a theory obtained from the systematical literature review and have been compared in relation to knowledge that are essential for members of MNC authorities. The results were interpreted in an exploratory manner. Based on the research, the authors proposed the four levels model of education for CG authorities in MNC as a possible classification level of their education in CG.