From governance to political economy

doi:10.1017/CBO9780511794537.016

16 - From governance to political economy

insights from a study of relations between corporations and workers

from Part III - Labor’s evolution in the new economy

Published online by Cambridge University Press: 07 September 2011

Harry W. Arthurs and

Claire Mummé

Edited by

Cynthia A. Williams and

Peer Zumbansen

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Cynthia A. Williams: Affiliation:
University of Illinois, Chicago
Peer Zumbansen: Affiliation:
Osgoode Hall Law School, York University, Toronto

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Summary

Introduction

Like public government, and for some of the same reasons, corporate governance is in crisis. Both seem unable to persuasively articulate their fundamental values; both have been losing legitimacy and credibility; both have been destabilized by rapid and complex socio-technical change; and both are finding it more difficult to accommodate the conflicting claims of internal constituencies and those of relevant ‘others’.

However, workers are assigned very different roles in public government and corporate governance. Workers, like everyone else, are entitled to participate in the rites of public government. They may vote, run for office, and contribute to public debates either personally or as part of a collectivity of like-minded individuals. Moreover, workers can reasonably expect to have their voices heard and their rights respected. To be sure, they fare less well at the hands of the state than they ought to in theory.

Type: Chapter
Information: The Embedded Firm
Corporate Governance, Labor, and Finance Capitalism
, pp. 350 - 380

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511794537.016 [Opens in a new window]

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Print publication year: 2011

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