Corporate governance and innovation in credit unions in the Island of Ireland

Corporate governance and innovation has recently emerged to interest researchers in the field of industrial organisations, technology and management. Although, studies into corporate governance and innovation is beginning to emerge, however, it is still limited in scope, and even overlooked particularly in the financial services sector which has a number of actors including credit unions. Currently, innovation in credit unions is not explicitly discussed, much like the undiscussed nature of innovation as a distinct field of study in the 19th century (Coccia, 2018). Central to organisations’ development and sustainability are governance and innovation. The significance of innovation, particularly new processes have been found to influence the probability of business survival (OrtizVillajos and Sotoca, 2018). Credit unions have survived through the years and continue to develop, the sector is seen as important in the context of the island of Ireland. With a penetration rate of 74%, the sector alone provided services to over three million people in 2017. In the past, the sector existed chiefly to provide basic savings and lifeline loans to their members, however, over the last two decades they have developed beyond the traditional credit co-operatives of the 19th century, with some providing services similar to that of commercial banks, and others going through significant structural changes. Results from a review of the literature has suggested some factors influencing credit union innovation to include regulation, technology, credit union members (customers), board’s social and human capital, as well as countries’ economic development. The outcome of these factors is reflected in the forms of innovation that has been discovered in credit unions to include products, services and processes innovations. It is against this background that this presentation will seek to provide some insights into the governance of credit unions and their recent innovations identified in the Island of Ireland.