The historical role of the corporation in society
This article charts the historical role of the corporation in society from antiquity to the present day. Using a broad temporal and transnational approach, it argues that social purpose has been a defining trait of the corporation since the concept of legal personhood first appeared in antiquity. Th...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| 格式: | Journal article |
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British Academy
2018
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| _version_ | 1826257575699546112 |
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| author | Davoudi, L McKenna, C Olegario, R |
| author_facet | Davoudi, L McKenna, C Olegario, R |
| author_sort | Davoudi, L |
| collection | OXFORD |
| description | This article charts the historical role of the corporation in society from antiquity to the present day. Using a broad temporal and transnational approach, it argues that social purpose has been a defining trait of the corporation since the concept of legal personhood first appeared in antiquity. The direct connection between incorporation and social purpose formally broke in the nineteenth century, when countries like the United Kingdom and United States introduced general incorporation laws. Yet many corporations continued to act positively on behalf of society on a voluntary basis even as they acted against the interests of workers, consumers, and the environment. This article demonstrates that concerns about corporate power have a long history, and that societies over time have designed a variety of legal systems and forms of corporate governance to address these concerns. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-06T18:20:23Z |
| format | Journal article |
| id | oxford-uuid:061223ec-be77-4c78-9760-b97daa20fb54 |
| institution | University of Oxford |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-06T18:20:23Z |
| publishDate | 2018 |
| publisher | British Academy |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | oxford-uuid:061223ec-be77-4c78-9760-b97daa20fb542022-03-26T09:00:41ZThe historical role of the corporation in societyJournal articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_dcae04bcuuid:061223ec-be77-4c78-9760-b97daa20fb54Symplectic Elements at OxfordBritish Academy2018Davoudi, LMcKenna, COlegario, RThis article charts the historical role of the corporation in society from antiquity to the present day. Using a broad temporal and transnational approach, it argues that social purpose has been a defining trait of the corporation since the concept of legal personhood first appeared in antiquity. The direct connection between incorporation and social purpose formally broke in the nineteenth century, when countries like the United Kingdom and United States introduced general incorporation laws. Yet many corporations continued to act positively on behalf of society on a voluntary basis even as they acted against the interests of workers, consumers, and the environment. This article demonstrates that concerns about corporate power have a long history, and that societies over time have designed a variety of legal systems and forms of corporate governance to address these concerns. |
| spellingShingle | Davoudi, L McKenna, C Olegario, R The historical role of the corporation in society |
| title | The historical role of the corporation in society |
| title_full | The historical role of the corporation in society |
| title_fullStr | The historical role of the corporation in society |
| title_full_unstemmed | The historical role of the corporation in society |
| title_short | The historical role of the corporation in society |
| title_sort | historical role of the corporation in society |
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