ABSTRACT
From a historical perspective, the joint-stock corporation – as a central institution of modern capitalism – has been the focal point of complex relationships of ownership and control. The question of who controls large corporations and how the organization of control affects private and public interests has been a central concern in the literature. Since the 1990s discussions on corporate governance have been centred on a shift from concentrated systems of corporate control (German and Japanese models) to a market-and shareholder-centric model (Anglo-Saxon model) (Crouch and Streeck 1997; Soederberg et al. 2005; Overbeek et al. 2007). This has been the case in many countries in the world, including those of East-Central Europe (Vliegenthart and Overbeek 2007).
