Corporate Governance and Firm Organization : Microfoundations and Structural Forms

Recent scandals involving large firms, in the US and elsewhere, have brought the role and conduct of the firm to the forefront of public attention. The corporation has often been seen as a body directed by its shareholders, or stakeholders, whose behaviour is to be influenced by the provision of incentives and regulation. To support this view, Agency Theory has sought to explain how different agents in a firm, with different objectives, produce particular actions. The contributors in this volume develop a new perspective, putting issues surrounding the organization of the firm, such as motivation and cognition, at the heart of the question of corporate governance.