Corporate Governance in Platform Governance: Reassessing Stakeholderism in a Disruptive Era

Today, many of the largest and most successful businesses such as Google, Amazon, Apple, and Metaverse (Facebook) operate as online platforms. While they bring vast economic and societal benefits, their negative impacts on the society are increasingly causing public concerns. Despite the consensus that they must be governed, a top-down style of public regulation may not represent an optimal path to address platform ills. In this context, corporate governance that incorporates a stakeholder perspective may provide a preferable means to strengthen platform governance. While stakeholder thinking is not without its criticisms, the context of the platform society and disruptive innovation does provide a strong case for stakeholderism. The latter may therefore have the potential to bridge the topics of platform governance and corporate governance. Platform governance via corporate governance may be institutionalised along multiple lines including, inter alia, stakeholder representation on the board, directors’ fiduciary duty enforceable by stakeholders, the board’s reporting obligation in respect of platform governance, and the stewardship responsibility imposed upon institutional shareholders.