The End of the Corporation

Abstract

Corporate governance is undergoing a quiet, but quick transformation. The rise of digital technologies is forcing companies to reconsider existing business models, but also how they organize themselves and structure firm governance. This chapter introduces the main features of the modern corporation and corporate governance, outlines how digital technologies are disrupting this business form, and describes the new business “ecosystems” that are emerging to replace the modern corporation. The chapter argues that in a networked age, all businesses need to “go digital.” Companies need to become innovation machines, and this means that every firm needs to become a “tech” company and a “media” company. If they do not, younger and more agile competitors better attuned to the realities of the new digital world will replace them. For incumbents, the risks are existential. Established firms must adapt to the new digital environment by embracing the ecosystem model, or they will die.