Corporate governance is currently on the agenda of many countries, and is receiving\ud
considerable attention in the business world as well as in the area of academic research,\ud
which is an indication of its importance for business development and for society as a whole.\ud
A large body of the currently available knowledge addresses this phenomenon from the\ud
perspective of the developed economies. Although the knowledge base about corporate\ud
governance in developing countries appears to be limited, it is growing.\ud
The main aim of this study is to investigate current corporate governance practices,\ud
perceptions and obstacles within Libya following the introduction of the Libyan Corporate\ud
Governance Code (LCGC). To achieve this aim, the study investigates: first, the nature and\ud
extent of applying current corporate governance; secondly, the perceptions of listed\ud
companies' staff (senior managers and employees in financial positions) and Libyan financial\ud
experts (academics and auditors) regarding the introduction of the LCGC; thirdly, the current\ud
obstacles facing the application of LCGC; and, finally, the views of the Libyan regulators and\ud
officials in relation to the obstacles identified and how they may be reduced.\ud
In order to accomplish the research objectives, a mixed research methodology was\ud
adopted: This involved using two types of research methods for collecting data: semistructured\ud
interviews and a questionnaire survey divided into three sequential stages: firstly,\ud
interviews were conducted with board members of the companies surveyed; secondly, a\ud
questionnaire was distributed to selected staff of the companies surveyed and Libyan\ud
financial experts; thirdly, further interviews were conducted with Libyan regulators and\ud
officials.\ud
The findings of the study revealed that corporate governance in Libya is in its early\ud
stages of development and is characterised by a weak legal environment, lack of knowledge\ud
about corporate governance, poor leadership, lack of training among directors and weak\ud
investment awareness among investors. Therefore, the influence of social, cultural and\ud
economic factors is evident. The results also suggest that urgent action is needed in order to\ud
facilitate the implementation of a good corporate governance system in Libya