Ownership and Control: Rethinking Corporate Governance for the Twenty-First Century [Hardcover]

Margaret M. Blair (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1995

This book is a guide through the historical, legal and institutional background of corporate governance debates. It explains the three broad views on the relationship among the governance, performance, and competitiveness of corporations. Blair argues that the suspicion that financial interests may be at odds with social goals lurks behind some of the more heated debates, particularly those surrounding anti-takeover laws, executive compensation schemes, and the growing activism of financial institutions.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 110 pages
• Publisher: Brookings Inst Pr (January 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 081570948X
• ISBN-13: 978-0815709480
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,137,976 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ground breaking!, June 17, 1996

By A Customer

This review is from: Ownership and Control: Rethinking Corporate Governance for the Twenty-First Century (Paperback)

Blair reviews how the governance of
public corporations in the U.S. is supposed to work, in theory and by law. She
compares the traditional economic rationale for corporate governance structures,
which stress shareholder and/or management models of control. Then, she posits a
more broadly based stakeholder model, based on a reexamination of the basic wealth
creating purpose of the corporate form. Building on trends which note the declining
cost of capital, relative to total production costs, and the increasing significance
of investments in firm-specific human capital, Blair makes several recommendations
concerning how corporate governance systems might evolve to enhance long-term wealth
creation for all parties. Her critical analysis contains many insights which deserve
wide circulation and debate.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good review, March 7, 2006

By 

grouchy (exiled into purgatory. for real.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ownership and Control: Rethinking Corporate Governance for the Twenty-First Century (Paperback)

It offers a good introduction to corporate governance. Unfortunately, the book exhibits a clear political bias, making it less objective. I have used it in my course on corporate governance and my students have found this book to be a straightforward and informative read.

13 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Thought-provoking and persuasive, June 27, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Ownership and Control: Rethinking Corporate Governance for the Twenty-First Century (Paperback)

Margaret Blair analyzes the two major theoretical approaches to corporate governance and then persuasively refutes the notion, central to both, that maximizing shareholder value is the only legitimate mission of a corporation. The key to her argument, that shareholders are not the only bearers of residual risk, is intuitively obvious in light of the changing nature of work in many sectors of American industry; however, I have never seen the point made with such analytical rigor.