The Corporation as Technology

Margaret Blair, Professor of Law Emerita, Vanderbilt University Law School Read this book before you despair of the possibility that modern corporations can be usefully enlisted in the effort to address urgent global social and environmental problems! Professor Bruner has reimagined corporations as a set of governance levers that modulate accountability, power, purpose, and risk-taking by business people who organize themselves into publicly-traded corporations. He takes us on a sweeping tour of the use of the corporate form, over time,
countries, and industries to make the case that the levers can be adjusted and recalibrated to make this old and venerated institution better address contemporary problems.


Martin Gelter, Professor of Law, Fordham University School of Law This refreshing book shows that the corporation is not defined by a uniform set of characteristics, but that there are seven malleable dimensions constituting the 'technology' of corporate law. These 'levers' can be used for different ends. Bruner successfully tests this framework against current challenges such as sustainability and inequality and concludes that corporate law can help us address them. The book will be of interest both to those who wish to understand
corporate governance and those hoping for change.


Beate Sjfjell, University of Oslo Faculty of Law In this eloquent, well-argued monograph, Christopher Bruner demonstrates again his leadership as a U.S. corporate law scholar who understands the broader context within which corporations operate and the role of corporate law and corporate governance in securing a sustainable future. Although no book can provide the final answers at this stage, this volume outlines the direction in which the important debates must be had.

Christopher M. Bruner is the Stembler Family Distinguished Professor in Business Law at the University of Georgia School of Law. His scholarship focuses on corporate law, corporate governance, comparative law, and sustainability, and he has written several books on these topics. He received his A.B., M.Phil., and J.D. from the University of Michigan, the University of Oxford, and Harvard Law School, respectively.

PART ONE: THE DYNAMISM OF THE CORPORATION Chapter 1. Introduction and Overview Chapter 2. Defining the Corporation and Corporate Law Chapter 3. Contextual Drivers of Difference PART TWO: RE-CONCEPTUALIZING THE CORPORATION Chapter 4. Enduring Controversies in Corporate Law Chapter 5. The Corporation as Technology PART THREE: HARNESSING THE CORPORATION Chapter 6. Corporate Pathologies and Corporate Sustainability Chapter 7. Re-Calibrating Governance: Industry-by-Industry Approaches Chapter 8. Re-Imagining Corporate Accountability Chapter 9. Conclusions