Jeffrey N. Gordon and Mark J. Roe, eds., Convergence and Persistence in Corporate Governance (Cambridge, Cambridge University Press 2004) 382 pp., hardback ISBN 0-521-82911-9, paperback ISBN 0-521-53601-4

Abstract

An important field in comparative corporate governance research during the last decade has tried to illuminate the prospects of convergence on a uniform organisational model and legal clothing for the modern firm. The volume under review assembles many of the formative statements in the debate, most of which have been published elsewhere earlier and were only slightly adapted for reprint. Hence, the book does not aim primarily at providing up-to-date reflections on the most recent developments and insights – with the notable exception of the editor's introduction – but at enabling corporate law scholars who have not been following the controversy closely to familiarise themselves with the major arguments characterising the discussion. However, the editorially skilful arrangement of the articles goes far beyond a chronologically accurate reiteration of the evolution of the debate and thereby awards even the expert in the field an opportunity to reclassify certain claims and counterclaims and reassess their validity. Moreover, after rereading the contributions consecutively, the identification of clearly distinguishable and antagonistic strands of thought, popular among corporate law commentators, does not seem to adequately capture the picture. The chapters procure a more nuanced impression of the debate which is characterised rather by discrepancies in accentuation than by sharp and irreconcilable contrasts.