What Jensen and Meckling really said about the public company

Abstract

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. Part I: Jumping off points for a new look at traditional topics -- What Jensen and Meckling really said about the public company / Brian R. Cheffins -- Business purpose and the objective of the corporation / Edward B. Rock -- A more equitable corporate purpose / Veronica Root Martinez -- Part II: Shareholders vs. stakeholders, benefit corporations, and ESG [environmental, social, and governance] -- The value of a public benefit corporation / Jill E. Fisch and Steven Davidoff Solomon -- Enlightened shareholder value, stakeholderism, and the quest for managerial accountability / Dorothy S. Lund -- The shareholder-stakeholder alliance : exposing the link between shareholder power and the rise of a corporate social purpose / Lisa M. Fairfax -- ESG investing, or, if you can't beat em, join em / Ann M. Lipton -- Purpose in business association statutes : much ado about something (but not much) / Brett McDonnell -- For whom is the corporation managed and what is its purpose? : a stakeholder perspective based on the law of Delaware / Cynthia A. Williams -- Part III: Broader theoretical foundations for grounding views of corporate purpose and personhood -- Shareholder primacy is illogical / Frank Partnoy -- The franchise view of the corporation : purpose, personality, public policy / Saule T. Omarova -- Corporate personality, purpose, and liability / Paul B. Miller -- Facts and values in corporate legal theory / James D. Nelson -- Part IV: Corporate personality, politics, and rights -- Regulatory partitioning as a key function of corporate personality / Mariana Pargendler -- Corporate personhood and the putative First Amendment right to discriminate / Kent Greenfield and Daniel A. Rubens -- The corporation's political purpose / Sarah C. Haan -- Personhood, procedure and the endurance of corporate compliance / Miriam H. Baer -- Part V: Lessons from comparative and international study and possible ways forward -- Beyond shareholder value : exploring justifications for a broader corporate purpose / Martin Petrin -- Lessons from India's struggles with corporate purpose / Afra Afsharipour -- Varieties of shareholderism : three views of the corporate purpose cathedral / Amir N. Licht.