Wayward agents,dominant elite,or reflection of internal diversity? A critique of Folkman,Froud, Johal and Williams on financialisation and financial intermediaries

Based on their earlier work on managerial capitalism and the literature on financialisation, P. Folkman, J. Froud, S. Johal, and K. Williams (2007, ‘Working for themselves: Financial intermediaries and present day capitalism’, Business History, 49(4), 552–572) argue that the rise of capital market intermediaries has both eroded traditional managerial power, and constitutes a powerful interest grouping with a distinct agenda that has a vested interest in permanent corporate restructuring and redistribution away from traditional stakeholders in the firm and, ultimately, shareholders as well. This paper critically evaluates these assumptions and conclusions. It specifically critiques the underlying assumptions of the Folkman et al. paper, and explores its relevance to understanding the changing relationship between stakeholders, and, indeed, the 2008 financial crisis.