An integrated theory of the firm with contributions from the social contract corporate ethics and corporate governance

An integrated theory of the firm with contributions from the social contract corporate ethics and corporate governance

The preliminary research behind this thesis identified twenty one theories of the firm that could be used to help understand the creation and life of business enterprises. There are more than 2.1 million business enterprises in Australia and approximately 800 000 of these are companies based on one of several possible legal forms. However, as at 30 June 2016, only some 2 200 of these companies were listed on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) and were required to publish annual reports that described their structure and activities. The data from such reports (for the financial years ending June 2007 to June 2016 inclusive) is used to determine the utility of the existing theories of the firm in understanding the creation, existence and operation of the 100 larger companies listed on the ASX (as at 30 June 2016).

Several researchers have suggested the need for an integrated theory of the firm that more comprehensively and succinctly describes the life of business entities and the research reported in this thesis highlights the need for such a comprehensive approach. A new Integrated Theory of the Firm that meets the needs identified by others is proposed and tested against the 100 larger companies listed on the ASX (as at 30 June 2016). An important finding of the thesis is the need for further research to confirm the utility of the new theory in helping understand the creation, existence and operation of other forms of business enterprise in Australia. Such research could also be extended to companies in other legal jurisdictions.