Global Business and Corporate Governance

Chapter 1

The Human Enterprise and Its Governance

In the 1960s, I had the first discussions focusing on the topic of this book. During those years these discussions were bordering on science fiction, though rapid social change was evident. The human enterprise, often directed by individual might and not by the power of the state, was already globalized though rarely following standardized game rules. The issue of corporate social responsibility and responsiveness was a major managerial concern, sound corporate governance was sine qua non of business success, and 25 U.S. academic programs have already a series of courses on business internationalization. Four decades does not seem a long time ago, however, at that time, most of the developed ...