Empirical Analysis of Finnish Listed Companies’ Annual General Meetings and Legislative Comparison of the Nordic Countries
i Nordisk Tidsskrift for SelskabsretThis paper investigates the evolution of general meeting practices among Finnish listed companies, particularly in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent legislative changes. The analysis covers the transition from traditional physical meetings to remote and hybrid formats, examining empirical data from general meetings held during the temporary laws of 2020 and the subsequent amendments to the Finnish Companies Act in 2022. The study aims to determine whether these companies have fully embraced digitalisation, reverted to pre-pandemic physical meetings, or adopted a hybrid approach. Furthermore, the paper includes a comparative analysis of Nordic corporate governance frameworks in respect of general meetings, evaluating whether Finnish practices align with those of other Nordic countries or if divergent developments have emerged post-pandemic. The research also considers the role of proxy advisors and their influence on international investor behaviour in general meetings, as well as the broader implications of digitalisation on shareholder democracy.