For decades, the public company has played a dominant role in the American economy. Since the middle of the 20th century, the nature of the public company has changed considerably. The transformation has been a fascinating one, marked by scandals, political controversy, wide swings in investor and public sentiment, mismanagement, entrepreneurial verve, noisy corporate "raiders" and various other larger-than-life personalities. Nevertheless, amidst a voluminous literature on corporations, a systematic historical analysis of the changes that have occurred is lacking. The Public Company Transformed correspondingly analyzes how the public company has been recast from the mid-20th century through to the present day, with particular emphasis on senior corporate executives and the constraints affecting the choices available to them. The chronological point of departure is the managerial capitalism era, which prevailed in large American corporations following World War II. The book explores managerial capitalism's rise, its 1950s and 1960s heyday, and its fall in the 1970s and 1980s. It describes the American public companies and executives that enjoyed prosperity during the 1990s, and the reversal of fortunes in the 2000s precipitated by corporate scandals and the financial crisis of 2008. The book also considers the regulation of public companies in detail, and discusses developments in shareholder activism, company boards, chief executives, and concerns about oligopoly. The volume concludes by offering conjectures on the future of the public corporation, and suggests that predictions of the demise of the public company have been exaggerated.

List of FigureList of TablesChapter One: IntroductionThe Public Company Transformed -- a Brief ChronologyThis Book's ContributionIconic Public Companies TransformedAT&TGeneral ElectricOverview of the BookChapter Two: Managerial CapitalismKey FeaturesThe Rise of Managerial CapitalismFinancial Capitalism EmergesFinancial Capitalism in RetreatWhen Did Ownership Separate From Control in Large Public Companies?Why Did Ownership Separate from Control?Managerial Capitalism in OperationThe "Core Fissure" in US Corporate GovernanceHow Much "Personal Gain"?Other Goals?What Constrained Management?Internal ConstraintsExternal ConstraintsChapter Three -- The 1970s: Managerial Capitalism Sustained But "Something Happened"Continuity and ChangeWere the Public Company's Days Numbered?Managerial Capitalism FaltersAmerican Management Falling Behind?The Conglomerate Crack-UpIllicit PaymentsInternal ConstraintsShareholdersBoardsExternal ConstraintsRegulationUnionsCompetitorsThe Market for Corporate ControlChapter Four -- The 1980s: Managerial Capitalism Taken OverDon't Just Manage - Lead!The Deal DecadeTakeoversLeveraged BuyoutsEnd of an EraInternal ConstraintsBoardsShareholdersExternal ConstraintsRegulationUnionsCompetitorsThe Public Company Executive in TransitionChapter Five -- The 1990s: Gloom to Euphoria and BackFrom Stagnation to Overdrive to HangoverAmerica Falling Behind?RallyingOverdriveHangoverInternal ConstraintsA Governance VacuumBoardsShareholdersExternal ConstraintsUnionsRegulationCompetitorsThe CEO as Corporate IconChapter Six: The 2000s: The Decade From HellChanging Circumstances for the Public CompanyThe Public Company's ChallengesCorporate ScandalsSOXPrivate EquityThe Financial CrisisInternal ConstraintsBoardsShareholdersExternal ConstraintsThe Market for Corporate ControlUnionsRegulationCompetitorsThe Retreat of the Iconic Chief ExecutiveBanks, Their "Free Pass" and the Financial CrisisChapter Seven: The Future of the Public CompanyExtinction of the Public Company?What's New?Private EquityUnicorns and IPOsThe Public Company Retains Center StageThe End of the Berle-Means Corporation?Internal ConstraintsBoardsShareholdersExternal ConstraintsUnionsRegulationCompetitorsWhat Does the Future Hold for Public Company Executives?CEO/FoundersReturn of the Imperial CEO?Embattled?Managerial Capitalism Redux?Index