Corporate governance in Bangladesh: a quest for the accountability or legitimacy crisis?

Purpose - This study aims at presenting an overview, development and process of current corporate governance practices in Bangladesh. Design/Methodology/Approach - Based on new institutional sociology (NIS) as theoretical framework and by using archival data, this study highlights the roles of key institutional forces in reinforcing the existing corporate governance practices in Bangladesh. Findings - This study noted that corporate governance practices in Bangladesh are still infancy. While Bangladesh is trying to adopt many international corporate governance best practices for institutional legitimacy, the weak institutional enforcement regime along with the absence of effective check and balance poses serious challenges to the firm level good corporate governance practices in Bangladesh. The absence of isomorphic pressures to regulate the firms leads to many incidences of non-compliance. Practical Implications - This study takes part in the global debate if corporate governance in emerging economy is a reality or illusion. Originality/ Value – This study seeks to contribute to the increasing literature by recognizing the interest of readers, academics, practitioners and regulators to gain more insight and understanding of corporate governance practices in an emerging economy, such as Bangladesh