Contemporary Corporate Governance - Shifting of the Accents

In contemporary corporate governance accents are shifting. The corporation is not just an instrument for providing the corporate owners' well-being – the corporation should be regarded as an important social institution with a strong influence on the community's life. Corporate governance is not just a mechanism for maximizing shareholder value – corporate governance should be regarded as a mechanism for balancing the interests of a variety of corporate stakeholders, having a vital importance for the survival of the corporation. There are some specific problems related to the corporate form of business – principal-agent problem, free rider problem, power vacuum problem, veil of incorporation problem, externalization of costs problem. The author analyses these problems, on the background of comparing the European and Anglo-Saxon models of corporate governance. The wide circle of groups concerned by these problems is outlined, and the social responsibility of corporate capital is discussed