Int. J. Business Governance and Ethics, Vol. 3, No. 2, 2007 179 Copyright © 2007 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd. Changing societal and executives’ values: their impact on corporate governance Scott Lichtenstein* Henley Management College Greenlands, Henley-on-Thames Oxon RG9 3AU, UK E-mail: Scott.Lichtenstein@henleymc.ac.uk *Corresponding author Pat Dade Cultural Dynamics Ltd. 52 South View Avenue Swindon SN3 1DZ, UK E-mail: thegurupat@cultdyn.co.uk Abstract: Scandals, top management misbehaviour and company failures resulting in a loss of investment and public trust in companies is well documented. Why has this corporate governance crisis happened, will it continue and what are implications for the board? A theoretical and empirical approach is taken to understand the changing nature of values in society reflected in executives to reveal the cause of the recent corporate governance crisis and implications for the board. Data from executives was collected from 163 owner/managers, senior managers and middle managers and combined with UK and US longitudinal population data. Results of the current research found empirical support for changing social values with the implication that the consensus of ‘playing by the rules’ has broken down and replaced by the need to outperform expectations even if that means bending or breaking the rules. This paper concludes with an action plan for the board agenda. Keywords: corporate governance; executive values; organisational performance; social values. Reference to this paper should be made as follows: Lichtenstein, S. and Dade, P. (2007) ‘Changing societal and executives’ values: their impact on corporate governance’, Int. J. Business Governance and Ethics, Vol. 3, No. 2, pp.179–203. Biographical notes: Dr. Scott Lichtenstein lectures in strategic management at Henley Management College, researches and writes in the area of strategic leadership and consults on people-focused approaches to strategy. Lichtenstein finished his Doctorate of Business Administration in the area of strategic leadership researching the relationship between strategy, goals and executives’ personal values and their impact on organisational performance.