Conclusion

The future of the corporation and the future of capitalism In 1983, in the conclusion of his survey of the literature on takeovers, Michael Jensen requested more “knowledge of this enormously productive social invention: the corporation” (Jensen and Ruback, 1983, p. 47). Six years later, after presumably acquiring the required knowledge, Jensen stated that the inefficiencies inherent in the corporate form with its separation of ownership and control and attendant agency problems were so severe, that this “enormously productive social invention” was soon to disappear (Jensen, 1989). Which perception of the corporation comes closest to the truth? What do these different perspectives imply about the future of the corporate form, or even of corporate capitalism itself? These questions will concern us in this brief concluding chapter.1