engleski

Governance of the network corporation

The meta-capital of the state has traditionally defined the relative value of particular forms of capital, and the accompanying power relations between their holders and fields. Globalization can be interpreted as a movement towards increased autonomy of the logics of particular fields in relation to the meta-capital and institutionalization engendered by the state. In the field of business, globalization of financial markets and business operations seems to correspond to the dominance of financial-market-related discourses of corporate governance, exemplified in the notions of shareholder rights and shareholder value. Moreover, the trends towards deregulation and privatization have been supported by the increased influence of epistemic communities and professions specializing in business issues, such as consultants and providers of professional services and business education. Consequently, meta-capital and the regulatory power of the state within the business field have suffered redefinition and partial erosion. However, the movement towards post-industrial modes of production and consumption in developed Western societies stimulates some opposite tendencies. Increased complexity and interconnectedness of business operations, as well as the importance of symbolic and relational aspects of business redefine the corporation, and the forms of capital used in and reproduced by its activities. The corporation becomes a flexible bundle of tangible and intangible resources, competences and relationships that are developed, adjusted and recombined in accordance with the systemic links and shifting boundaries between the organization and its environment. The differentiation aimed at matching increased environmental demands requires balance by the redefined integrating forces within the organization. An effective organization in such conditions becomes a complex adaptive system encapsulated by the network paradigm. It interacts with its changing environment in responsive and flexible ways, while remaining on course through continuous redefinition of its shared purpose and strategy. Consequently, we can discern two complementary levels of the process of corporate governance. At the corporate level, where the governance debates were initiated, governance denotes the institutionalized relationships among stakeholders of particular corporations, i.e. their relative strength derived from law and negotiating positions. At the societal level, corporate governance involves a network of institutions and organizations that steer the behavior of corporate actors through development and enforcement of legal and habitual instruments, i.e. a generalized social competence to govern business in accordance with societal goals. Hereby society entails the level whereby relevant political decisions are made (meaning not only formal politics, but the formation of opinions and abilities to influence as well), and where accountability processes can be performed. The historical role of the nation-state in this regard is being complemented and partially replaced by more complex and institutional configurations of stakeholders interested securing their rights and/or greater transparency and accountability of business. However, the issue whether this decentralized web of governance processes can serve as a mechanism of new institutionalization and meta-capital still remains open.

governance ; network ; corporation, stakeholders

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