John Parkinson, who died in 2004, was Professor of Law at the University of Bristol.
Gavin Kelly is Senior Research Fellow at the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR).
Andrew Gamble is Professor of Politics and Director of the Political Economy Research Centre, University of Sheffield.

Theoretical writing on the company and company law has been dominated in recent years by economics. This collection of essays by a distinguished team of authors drawn from a variety of disciplines seeks to build on the insights of this economic analysis and broaden understanding by examining the company in a wider historical,legal, political, and sociological context.
Issues discussed include the attitudes of political parties in the UK to the company, the rise of the non-executive director, institutional activism and stakeholder protection, and the evolution of the nexus of contracts theory of the company. There is also a strong comparative theme, with discussions of the political and sociological context of corporate governance in France, Germany, and Japan, together with developments at the European level.

1. Introduction: The Political Economy of the Company
ANDREW GAMBLE, GAVIN KELLY, AND JOHN PARKINSON
2. The Politics of the Company
ANDREW GAMBLE AND GAVIN KELLY
3. The Labour Party and the Company
BEN CLIFT, ANDREW GAMBLE, AND MICHAEL HARRIS
4. The Public Interest and the Company in Germany
SHAWN DONNELLY
5. Worker Rights and Responsibilities in the Modern Company
ROBERT TAYLOR
6. The Conceptual Foundations of the Company: A Pluralist Approach
GAVIN KELLY AND JOHN PARKINSON
7. Defending the Rentier: Corporate Theory and the Reprivatization of the Public Company
PADDY IRELAND
8. Corporate Governance in a Political Climate: The Impact of Public Policy Regimes on Corporate Governance in the UK
SUE BOWDEN
9. Institutional Investors: What Are Their Responsibilities as Shareholders?
G P STAPLEDON
10. Evolution and Policy in Company Law: The Non-Executive Director
JOHN PARKINSON
11. Comparative Corporate Governance: Sociological Perspectives
GREGORY JACKSON