Från ägarmakt under ansvar till företagsledarmakt. En studie över maktförskjutningen hos tre svenska verkstadsaktiebolag

Sammanfattning: The dissertation is confined to the formal work of the boards of the parent companies as recorded in the approved minutes of meetings at Alfa Laval AB, Atlas Copco AB and Kockums Mekaniska Verkstads AB and is based on the Companies Law applying in Sweden since 1848. The study covers the time from the establishment of the joint stock company up to the ordinary general meeting of 1980 (1979 in the case of Kockums). Swedish legislation shows a clear shift of power from the shareholders general meeting via the board of directors to the managing director and his senior managers. However, the exercise of the Law in companies studied shows, that the power was distributed even faster in practice. From the last decade of the nineteenth century a managing director took over the day-to-day running of the company from the board, although the latter did still retain much of its decisionmaking right. Authorised signatories of the company were later on no longer required to be members of the board. From the 1950s it became a rule for the managing director’ s colleagues not on the board to participate in board meetings as rapporteurs on their respective spheres of responsibility. This dramatically increased their power to influence - not to say guide - the board' s handling of the matters discussed. This process was completed during the 1960s in the case of Alfa and Kockums, whereas at Atlas it was not accomplished until the end of the 1970s.