ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the development of the dominant model of corporate governance. It examines the model against the backdrop of the global financial crisis. The chapter deals with the increasingly systemic importance of corporations and the problem that has arisen as a result of the law generally failing to prescribe the purpose of these entities. It addresses the rising problem of income inequality and the nexus with shareholder primacy. The chapter performs a similar function with respect to short-termism in corporate governance. It concerns the centrality of corporate governance to the growing number of initiatives seeking to renew capitalism. The chapter explains some of the myths which are central to shareholder primacy thinking. Whilst there is mounting evidence of the problems with shareholder value maximisation as the dominant corporate governance paradigm, what is lacking to date is a coherent alternative.
