State-Owned Enterprise Restructuring : Better Performance Through the Corporate Structure and Competition

Muir, Russell ; Soba, Joseph

World Bank, Washington, DC

关键词: ACCOUNTING;    ACCOUNTING STANDARDS;    AUDITING;    BANKING SYSTEM;    BANKRUPTCY;   

RP-ID  :  16917

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: World Bank Open Knowledge Repository

【 摘 要 】

The legal structure of the moderncorporate form has four fundamental elements--separateidentity, limited liability for shareholders, centralizedmanagement, and transferability of shares. These, togetherwith the dynamics of governance relationship between theowners, the supervisory board, and the executives of thefirm, provide internal incentives for efficiency. However,the legal form alone is not sufficient to ensure efficiency.Certain external incentives must be in place for sustainableefficiency gains. Corporate performance is influenced byexternal pressures from competition in product, factor,debt, and equity markets and by regulation. The interplay ofthe internal and external incentives causes the managers toact in accordance with the goals of efficiency andprofitability set by the owners. Also, it causes the moderncorporation to act with a clarity and singleness of purpose.The absence of any of the internal or external incentivescan seriously undermine performance.