Investigating the Antecedents of Corporate Governance Influencing the Investment Efficiency of Firms: A Synthesis of Literature and Future Research Agenda

This review study investigates the critical antecedents of corporate governance affecting firms’ investment efficiency. It proposes a comprehensive framework encompassing corporate governance’s multifaceted aspects for all stakeholders’ benefit. A thorough literature evaluation has been conducted using the SCOPUS database, encompassing all publications published between 2010 and June 2023. The existing body of literature has also been examined through the theoretical frameworks, journals, authors, articles and research construct questions. After synthesising 154 articles through bibliometric analysis, four key antecedents (financial reporting quality, auditing and accounting quality, environmental, social and governance (ESG), institutional ownership and board structure) of corporate governance were identified as primary influencers of investment efficiency. New corporate governance perspectives, such as ESG and carbon taxation in the context of investment efficiency, have been identified and can be explored in depth by future researchers. The review provides a holistic framework for corporate governance, which defines the association with investment efficiency. The study presents potential future research areas where scholars can extend the scope of corporate governance from the perspective of investment efficiency.