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Is Berle and Means Really a Myth?

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  • Cheffins, Brian
  • Bank, Steven

Abstract

Adolf Berle and Gardiner Means famously declared in 1932 that a separation of ownership and control was a hallmark of large U.S. corporations, and their characterization of matters quickly became received wisdom. A series of recent papers has called the Berle–Means orthodoxy into question. This survey of the relevant historical literature acknowledges that the pattern of ownership and control in U.S. public companies is not monolithic. Nevertheless, a separation between ownership and control remains an appropriate reference point for analysis of U.S. corporate governance.

Suggested Citation

  • Cheffins, Brian & Bank, Steven, 2009. "Is Berle and Means Really a Myth?," Business History Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 83(3), pages 443-474, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:cup:buhirw:v:83:y:2009:i:03:p:443-474_00
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    Cited by:

    1. Foreman-Peck, James & Hannah, Leslie, 2011. "Extreme Divorce: the Managerial Revolution in UK Companies before 1914," Cardiff Economics Working Papers E2011/21, Cardiff University, Cardiff Business School, Economics Section.
    2. Turner, John D., 2024. "Three centuries of corporate governance in the UK," QUCEH Working Paper Series 24-01, Queen's University Belfast, Queen's University Centre for Economic History.
    3. Escudé, Guillermo J., 2021. "La Teoría del Capitalismo de Karl Marx. Exposición, Crítica y Evaluación [Karl Marx's Theory of Capitalism. Exposition, Critique, and Appraisal]," MPRA Paper 105877, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    4. Rachelle Belinga & Blanche Segrestin, 2018. "Principals and stewards? An exploration of the role of institutional investors in corporate governance," Post-Print hal-01791931, HAL.
    5. Graeme G. Acheson & Gareth Campbell & John D. Turner & Nadia Vanteeva, 2015. "Corporate ownership and control in Victorian Britain," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 68(3), pages 911-936, August.
    6. Ruiz-Porras, Antonio & Lopez-Mateo, Celina, 2010. "The separation of ownership and control and investment decisions in Mexican manufacturing firms," MPRA Paper 25237, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    7. Escudé, Guillermo J., 2021. "Karl Marx´s Theory of Capitalism Exposition, Critique, and Appraisal," MPRA Paper 113685, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    8. Lehmann-Hasemeyer, Sibylle H. & Neumayer, Andreas, 2018. "The persistence of ownership inequality. Investors on the German stock exchanges, 1869 – 1945," Working Papers 8, German Research Foundation's Priority Programme 1859 "Experience and Expectation. Historical Foundations of Economic Behaviour", Humboldt University Berlin.
    9. Lehmann-Hasemeyer, Sibylle H. & Neumayer, Andreas, 2018. "The persistence of ownership inequality: Investors on the German stock exchanges, 1869-1945," Hohenheim Discussion Papers in Business, Economics and Social Sciences 20-2018, University of Hohenheim, Faculty of Business, Economics and Social Sciences.

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