Purpose: This paper aims to provide an overview of the quality of corporate governance (CG) disclosures in the framework of CGS and the “comply or explain” code principle in Slovenia. It aims to observe the differences among companies of the prime, standard and entry markets in terms of the differences in governance standards and regulatory frameworks. Design/methodology/approach: This paper analyzes the historical development, legal approach and methods used in the regulation of the “comply or explain” principle in Slovenia. In the 2014 SEECGAN research – Slovenia, we measured the quality of CG by applying the newly created SEECGAN index methodology covering seven segments of CG and assessing 98 attributes. This paper upgrades the results of this research with additional case study research. Findings: The analysis from 2011 to 2014 on the “comply or explain” principle showed a gradual improvement of transparency in Slovenian public companies. The 2014 SEECGAN research – Slovenia revealed that the number of specific and high-quality explanations of deviations has increased. The study in this paper showed that the governance practice in some cases is still not in line with code recommendations and does not disclose the deviations from the code. Originality/value: Disclosures of the Slovenian public companies are presented for the period 2004-2018. This paper points out the improvements to be realized to change unsatisfactory practices. The measurement of the quality of CG by the 2014 SEECGAN research – Slovenia introduced a methodology, which could be recognized and improved by the EU and/or its member states.

Large proportions of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are family controlled and play an important role not only in the development of many national economies, but also have great potential to reduce negative effects of human activities on the natural environment and society. This important role of family SMEs has been recognized by the European Union (EU) which has integrated them in its legislative frameworks. The main question addressed in our research is whether family SMEs integrate sustainability concerns into their strategic and operative decisions as required by the EU legislative frameworks. We designed our research with the purpose to broaden our understanding of sustainability (re)orientation of family SMEs and fill the gap in the existing literature on family businesses’ sustainability. We applied a qualitative case study research method where sustainability (re)orientation of 26 family SMEs was explored. The qualitative content analysis was used in the process of analysing data. Theoretically and empirically based cognitions on endogenous and exogenous drivers of the family businesses’ sustainability (re)orientation were applied in interpretation of the research results. Our findings show the low level of sustainability (re)orientation of most of the investigated Slovenian family SMEs. The exogenous drivers have stronger effect on sustainability (re)orientation of family SMEs than endogenous drivers.

The article empirically examines the relationship between family businesses’ culture and successors’ innovativeness. The research results demonstrate that the family business culture of individual orientation is perceived by successors as very important for their innovativeness and positively influences their creativity and process innovations. The empirical evidence also supports our hypothesis that long-term orientation of the family businesses culture positively affects successors’ creativity, original thinking, experimenting with new ways of doing things, development of new ideas, new products and services. Research findings show that relationships between family businesses’ culture influenced by founders’ value system and successors’ innovativeness are complex.

The complex and turbulent contemporary business environment requires an understanding that considering sustainability challenges and issues in the strategic decision-making process is essential for building and maintaining a company's competitive advantage. The authors advocate that incorporating sustainability in the strategic planning process and developing sustainability strategies must be part of a company's transformation and reorientation to “a sustainability company.” They explain the interdependences between the company's sustainability orientation, institutional solutions, and instrumental specifics and emphasize the requisite holism of process, institutional, and instrumental dimensions of strategic management for maintaining a company's competitive advantage. They conclude our chapter by presenting a model of interdependence of strategic management dimensions, sustainability, and competitive advantage of a company. Request access from your librarian to read this chapter's full text.