This chapter, forthcoming in the Oxford Handbook of the New Private Law, situates corporations and corporate law theory within the nascent New Private Law movement. Most theorists allied to the New Private Law focus on fundamental private law and so, in turn, bodies of law addressed to singular...

1 An Overview of the Theory: Hierarchies, Social Contract and Reputation -- 2 Economic Theory and the Social Contract of the Firm -- 3 Games of Reputation and Compliance with the Social Contract -- 4 How Far Does Reputation Extend? Abuse of Authority and Corporate Culture -- 5 Information,...

Markets and firms offer contrasting methods to arrange production. In markets, contracts govern the purchase of parts and services that compose production. In firms, the shared values, customs, and norms coming from a corporate culture govern employees’ joint development of those parts and...