| Summary: | Corporations are failing to address sweeping societal changes and problems, and concepts of shareholding, ownership, and governance should evolve accordingly. While ownership of legal title carries with it rights to control, we ask whether and how other forms of influence or authority might become salient through alternative conceptions of corporate governance. Central to this are questions of corporate purpose: who can establish it? Can it be made to meaningfully influence corporate activities? Can the rights to financial rewards engendered by ownership of legal title (including by blockholders and family business owners) be linked to responsibilities to manage corporate purpose over time? Focusing on the importance of long-termism, corporate responsibilities and obligations toward stakeholders beyond shareholders, and empowerment and access, we present recommendations (and illustrative case studies) as pathways to transformative change and responsible business for the 21st century.
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