Purpose In Corporate Governance

This insightful Research Handbook contributes to the theoretical and practical understanding of corporate purpose and personhood, which has become the central debate of corporate law. It provides cutting-edge thoughts on the role of corporations in society and the nature of their rights and responsibilities.

Corporations with a Conscience Corporations today are embedded in a system of shareholder primacy. Nonfinancial concerns—like worker well-being, environmental impact, and community health—are secondary to the imperative to maximize share price. Benefit corporation governance reorients corporations so that they work for the interests of all stakeholders, not just shareholders. This is the first authoritative guide to this new form of governance. It is an invaluable guide for legal and financial professionals, as well as interested entrepreneurs and investors who want to understand how purposeful corporate governance can be put into practice.

This Element is an attempt to contribute to the extant literature on boards and corporate governance by exploring in detail the active involvement of the board in the purpose and strategy of the corporation in order to cope with a complex and uncertain environment.

This research handbook provides a state-of-the-art perspective on how corporate governance differs between countries around the world. It covers highly topical issues including corporate purpose, corporate social responsibility and shareholder activism.

In this volume, leading management experts offer critical insights into the promises and illusions of shareholder empowerment, the discrepancies between theory and practice, and the challenges posed by variations in global corporate governance regimes.

This volume contains contributions from the Journée de droit de l'entreprise co-organised by the Centre for Business Law of the University of Lausanne (CEDIDAC) and the Enterprise for Society Centre (E4S) – a joint venture of the University of Lausanne, IMD and EPFL –, on 25 May 2021. Contributions by Mathieu Blanc and Jean-Luc Chenaux, Isabelle Romy, Henry Peter and Aurélien Rocher, Jonathan Normand, Damiano Canapa and Aurélien Barakat, Jean-Pierre Danthine and Florence Huguard, Giulia Neri-Castracane, and Boris Nikolov provide an extended overview of the latest developments regarding the increased importance in company law of social elements such as gender equity, human rights and environmental protection.

Generally referring to all forms of social coordination and patterns of rule, the term 'governance' is used in many different contexts. In this Very Short Introduction, Mark Bevir explores the main theories of governance and considers their impact on ideas of governance in the corporate, public, and global arenas.