Towards good corporate governance: Realistic or idealistic? Available to Purchase

In a privately owned company, the owner rules the roost and controls the decision‐making process. Flotation changes all that. Going public diffuses ownership among a wide range of shareholders who paradoxically become peripheral figures as far as power and control are concerned. Control shifts to the hands of executives responsible for the assets of the shareholder. Fundamentally, the role of management is to make decisions that help to maximize profits for these investors.