Why Do Corporations Exist?
Jang-Sup Shin(Author)
Cambridge University Press
Will be published approx. on 31. August 2026
Book
Paperback/Softback
75 pages
978-1-009-85653-9 (ISBN)
Description
Corporations are the engine of the modern economy, yet public debates are ideologically polarized between two extremes-shareholder value theory and stakeholder theory-and the real workings of corporations and their contributions to society are obscured. This book attempts to break the shackles of these two ideologies. It starts from the 'Two Corporate Axioms' that any reasonably well-informed person should accept, i.e., the dominance of corporations and the existence of market competition. It then derives the 'Eight Corporate Theorems' as logical extensions of the axioms and, based on these theorems, re-examines major issues surrounding corporations, including their purpose and governance. To make this construct more realistic, the book weaves the theorems into the story of an imaginary AI company, starting as a venture company and expanding eventually into a multi-planetary enterprise. This book concludes by offering a vision of the corporation as a long-term community for co-prosperity.
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Cambridge
United Kingdom
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Illustrations
Worked examples or Exercises
ISBN-13
978-1-009-85653-9 (9781009856539)
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Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Jang-Sup Shin
Why Do Corporations Exist?
Book
approx. 08/2026
Cambridge University Press
€68.50
Not yet published
Person
Content
1. Introduction; 2. The birth of new owners of companies; 3. The Ontological foundation and purpose of the corporation; 4. The teleology of the corporation; 5. The control of the corporation; 6. The correspondence between rights and responsibilities; 7. Building the community of long-term co-prosperity; 8. Conclusions.