DEMATEL analysis of corporate and public governance: identifying key factors for good governance

Abstract

This paper aims to clarify the concepts of corporate governance and public governance, the principles and practices of governance, with an emphasis on the role and responsibility of management and on decision-making transparency. An extensive review of scholarly literature has pinpointed ten factors known to exert an influence on good governance. Following this, expert opinions were leveraged to establish the causal interrelationships among these factors, employing the Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) methodology. The conclusions of the paper show that corporate governance can also be better applied in the field of public affairs, an approach so current under the difficulties and contemporary economic and social changes and under the extraordinary transformational pressure exerted by the new technologies and mentalities that do not bypass the relatively reluctant to change the sector of public administration. The development and diversification of public services, which must ensure a high degree of quality and efficiency under conditions of limiting the financial resources of the administrative-territorial units, obliges the efficiency of the management systems of these institutions, emphasizing their role, responsibility, transparency, and decision-making and credibility in front of the citizens.