Abstract
This chapter sets forth a conceptual understanding of the firm as an organizational “entity” with “legal personality.” This idea is foundational for a modern legal theory of the firm. The chapter resurrects ideas regarding the nature of the business corporation (as one specific kind of firm). It also explains how thinking of firms as legal fictions, entities, and persons is key to understanding how they have evolved over time. Against contemporary economists and legal scholars who have been impatient and dismissive of these ideas, the chapter argues that fictions, entities, and persons are essential concepts that are useful for many different purposes in business practice. These purposes include the naming, representation, and standing of firms, as well as the phenomenon of organizational “shapeshifting.” The chapter compares and contrasts “bottom-up” and “top-down” theories of the firm and argues in favor of an institutional legal theory of the firm includes both perspectives.
Submitted Version (
Free)
Published Version
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call