Network Analysis of Interlocking Directorates/Project Overview
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Project Description
Our project aims to review and analyse the interlocking directorates among corporate organizations in Singapore. While interlocking directorates is lawful and has its advantages, it may give rise to conflicts of interests and unfair advantages especially if the relationship is between public and private organizations.
Using corporates and directorships database from OneSource, we will analyze the network of interlocking directorates amongst Singapore firms. Through our analysis, readers will be able to identify possible areas where conflicts of interest may arise between public and private organizations. They will also be able to observe patterns of interdependency between sectors in Singapore which might assist them in making better business decisions.
Our Motivation
Since the latest Singapore General Elections in 2011, there has been renewed interest in the way the the Government of Singapore operates. The transparency of the government has also been called into question due to the AIM scandal in 2012. Because members of public organizations are allowed to act in multiple board of directors for private corporates, it is questioned whether it is fair for economic development and competition, as these members have higher control over political and economic resources. Our team is interested in looking deeply into the interlocking directorates to clarify the issue and to see how impactful and profitable the network of corporate interlocks has.
Project Scope
In each firm, there may be a board of directors which contains both insiders, who are direct employee under the firm, and outsiders – people who are not employees of the firm but hold an important position in the board of directors. As the existence of interlocking directorates between public and private entities in the same sector increases the possibility of conflicts of interest, our team aims to produce a visualization of these relationships. Key features of our project includes:
- 1. Visualization of the network of interlocking directorates
- 2. Analysis of this network, focusing on the relationships from public to private sectors.
- 3. Gathering useful insights from the analysis, which may be helpful the corporate leaders in decision-making in the future.
