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Theories on the nature and purpose of the company and their implications for corporate governance
Dissertation (LLM (Corporate Law))--University of Pretoria, 2024.
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English |
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University of Pretoria
2025
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| _version_ | 1867613647678734336 |
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| access_status_str | Open Access |
| author2 | Delport, P.A. (Piet A.) |
| author_browse | Delport, P.A. (Piet A.) |
| author_facet | Delport, P.A. (Piet A.) |
| collection | Thesis |
| dc_rights_str_mv | © 2023 University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria. |
| description | Dissertation (LLM (Corporate Law))--University of Pretoria, 2024. |
| format | Thesis |
| id | oai:repository.up.ac.za:2263/100791 |
| institution | University of Pretoria (South Africa) |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2026-06-10T12:39:28.478Z |
| license_str | Other — see source repository |
| provenance_str_mv | Harvested via OAI-PMH from UPSpace — University of Pretoria Institutional Repository |
| publishDate | 2025 |
| publishDateRange | 2025 |
| publishDateSort | 2025 |
| publisher | University of Pretoria |
| publisherStr | University of Pretoria |
| record_format | dspace |
| source_str | UPSpace — University of Pretoria Institutional Repository |
| spelling | oai:repository.up.ac.za:2263/100791 Theories on the nature and purpose of the company and their implications for corporate governance Delport, P.A. (Piet A.) ansieramalho@gmail.com Esser, I.M. Ramalho, Anna Francina UCTD Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Shareholder primacy Stakeholder theories Contractarianism Corporate governance Entity theories Dissertation (LLM (Corporate Law))--University of Pretoria, 2024. Despite the emergence of corporate governance as a formal discipline more than thirty years ago, the proliferation internationally of scholarly work on the topic and its formal regulation over this period, the scope, definition and direction of corporate governance remain contested. Company theories could potentially assist in this regard but have been inconsistent in their explanations of the both the means and ends of corporate governance. This has led to scepticism about the efficacy of theories to illuminate the phenomena associated with companies and company law. Notwithstanding, theory is critical as it makes explicit what is implicit in policymaking by regulators, as well as in the behaviour and decision-making by corporate actors, so that regulation and decisions are transparent for analysis and evaluation. The study, therefore, set out to provide a synthesis and doctrinal analysis of the main theories on the nature and general purpose of corporations in historical context. It was found that objections can be raised against all of these theories to a greater or lesser extent for inaccurate portrayal of the law, limited explanatory power and detachment from the real word. This study shows that corporate theories are a product of the settings in which they have developed and consequently none of these theories represents a universal or absolute truth, nor are they an inevitability due to widespread adoption and use. This leaves room for new formulations of the corporate form and its purpose fit for today’s context with its political, social and environmental challenges. This dissertation also includes further directions for theoretical exploration. Mercantile Law LLM (Corporate Law) Unrestricted Faculty of Laws SDG-16: Peace, justice and strong institutions 2025-02-12T13:11:23Z 2025-02-12T13:11:23Z 2025-04 2024-11 Dissertation * A2025 http://hdl.handle.net/2263/100791 Disclaimer Letter en © 2023 University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria. application/pdf University of Pretoria |
| spellingShingle | UCTD Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Shareholder primacy Stakeholder theories Contractarianism Corporate governance Entity theories Theories on the nature and purpose of the company and their implications for corporate governance |
| title | Theories on the nature and purpose of the company and their implications for corporate governance |
| title_full | Theories on the nature and purpose of the company and their implications for corporate governance |
| title_fullStr | Theories on the nature and purpose of the company and their implications for corporate governance |
| title_full_unstemmed | Theories on the nature and purpose of the company and their implications for corporate governance |
| title_short | Theories on the nature and purpose of the company and their implications for corporate governance |
| title_sort | theories on the nature and purpose of the company and their implications for corporate governance |
| topic | UCTD Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Shareholder primacy Stakeholder theories Contractarianism Corporate governance Entity theories |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/2263/100791 |