The purpose of this chapter is to provide an extended overview on the debate on the European firm, by articulating it against the backdrop of more traditional theories of the firm. The chapter also proposes a different interpretation of the issue by grafting the discussion into the...

We survey the phenomenon of the growth of firms drawing on literature from economics, management and sociology. We begin with a review of empirical "stylised facts" before discussing theoretical contributions. Firm growth is characterized by a predominant stochastic element, making it difficult...

Recent financial crises and scandals have focused attention on the system of governance and disclosure in a way many may never have imagined and few welcomed. Not only do reforms appear to be necessary to protect shareholders as well as other stakeholders, but also to develop a different...

The aim of this paper is to reconsider the link between vertical integration and disintegration which are traditionally opposed in the literature. The conception of integration and disintegration closely depends on the way we define the firm and its role. This paper focuses on human...

Having been introduced in the European Union and in many other countries, the equal opportunity rule is seen as protecting investors in the event of a transfer of control. This rule should be analyzed in a context of appropriation of private benefits between the new controlling shareholders and...

The equal opportunity rule is seen as protecting investors in the event of a transfer of control. This rule is analyzed in a setting of information asymmetry and future private benefits between the new controlling shareholders and the outside investors. Both parties need to design a new implicit...

Are Business Angels likely to influence the entrepreneur before any investment decisions have been taken? If such is the case, what are the reasons for doing so and in what way do they influence the entrepreneur? In this article we examine knowledge transfer from angel to entrepreneur at the...

Board Interlocks could have a positive effect on the adoption of governance practices and especially on the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). We surpass the predictions of the agency theory by proposing a cognitive-behavioral approach of governance to define the role of director. Given the...

There is evidence to suggest that firms wish to work with universities to gain access to new technologies, to knowledge of future technologies and their possible impact and to thechnical problem-solving capability. There is much less evidence to support the proposition that firms work with...

This paper examines scientific collaboration between French public research teams and distant partners. We first analyse the role and the development of trust and then, the relation between the degree of sophistication of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) and the constraint of...