Does it matter if corporate leaders pursue a broader, social corporate purpose rather than a narrow, shareholder-centric one, and can legal and governance levers influence their choice? Theoretically—and limited by substitution, regulation, and legitimacy—socially-minded corporate decision-making can benefit society ex post, while commitment to either purpose may be required to motivate various constituencies’ contributions ex ante. Empirically, however, even structural measures like employee co-determination hardly have detectable effects, let alone mere exhortations such as those in (unenforceable) nuances of (misunderstood) fiduciary duties. Many arguments for or against (particular) corporate purpose(s) are fallacies, red herrings, or, for empirics, cherry-picking.
SPEAKER
Professor Holger Spamann
Harvard Law School
Holger Spamann is the Lawrence R. Grove Professor of Law at Harvard Law School, where he teaches corporate law and corporate finance. His research focuses on the law and economics of corporate governance and financial markets, judicial behavior, and comparative law. Before embarking on his academic career, he practiced with Debevoise & Plimpton in New York and clerked for two years in Europe. He holds too many degrees, among them a Ph.D. in economics from Harvard University. He is a member of the bar of New York and qualified for the German bar.
COMMENTATOR
Professor Dan W. Puchniak
Professor of Law
Director, Centre for Commercial Law in Asia
SMU Yong Pung How School of Law
Dan W. Puchniak is a Professor in the Yong Pung How School of Law (YPHSL) at SMU, an ECGI Research Member and the Director of the YPHSL Centre for Commercial Law in Asia. He is an internationally recognized scholar in the field of comparative corporate law and governance, with a focus on Asia. Dan has held visiting academic positions at leading universities around the world, advised international organizations on the development of corporate law in Asia, and served as an expert in high stakes complex corporate law disputes in Asia.
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