Research Handbook on Corporate Purpose and Personhood

Research Handbooks in Corporate Law and Governance series

Edited by Elizabeth Pollman, Professor of Law, University of Pennsylvania Law School and Robert B. Thompson, Peter P. Weidenbruch Jr. Professor of Business Law, Georgetown University Law Center, US

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.

‘What is a corporation, and what is its social and economic function? These questions about the “purpose” and the “personhood” of corporations go to the heart of many urgent problems in corporate law and finance, as well as in society’s choices about regulating corporations. Yet they are unsettled, and passionately debated, even among the experts. This collection of essays, solicited and edited by two superstars of the corporate law field, brings together work by 22 of the most well-respected senior scholars, and the brightest, up-and-coming junior scholars to explore these issues. Each brings unique insights from other related fields that illuminate whole new ways to parse and understand the personhood and purpose debates. This Handbook is a must read for anyone working on these issues!’
– Margaret M. Blair, Vanderbilt University Law School, US

的持久的问题公司的角色in society is again central. With evidence that stockholder power has contributed to lower gainsharing with workers, increased externalities, and corporate conduct slowing the necessary response to climate change, finding a positive way forward to capture the dynamism of the corporate form while channeling it in a positive way consistent with the public interest is vital. This Handbook gives the reader, in one shot, access to the thoughts of diverse viewpoints, but sharing a singular characteristic, all of them have perspectives worth considering.’
– Leo E. Strine, Jr., Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, US