Corporate governance and shareholders’ confidence in cooperatives: a systematic literature review

Background The confidence of Bottom 40 (B40) shareholders is crucial for cooperative’s sustenance within wider corporate governance. An in-depth study on cooperatives is needed, as they play a crucial role in the Malaysian economic system and contribute greatly to the country’s social development. However, in the current landscape, confidence among shareholders is at stake. This study aims to identify the research gap into corporate governance for cooperativess in relation to B40 shareholder confidence, as well as identify current study challenges and develop a conceptual framework for future research. Methods We conducted a systematic literature review, with the use of agency theory to assess shareholders’ confidence. Emerald, ProQuest, InderScience, Scopus and Science Direct were the online databases used in this study to search five keyword phrases: corporate governance, confidence, cooperative, agency theory and Bottom 40% (B40) household. Tranfield’s five stages were used to conduct the systematic review. Results Only 5 of the 324 studies assess shareholders’ confidence in cooperatives, as well as one paper on B40 and two papers on agency theory. Our review presents three major findings. First, research in the context of B40 shareholder’s confidence in cooperatives is scarce. Second, the challenges related to shareholders’ confidence in B40 are major issues in the context. Third, research on agency theory in the context of shareholders’ confidence within cooperatives and corporate governance is still scant. Conclusions This review urges the research community to conduct more studies based on the highlighted research gaps.