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A radical reappraisal of the nature and activities of business -- what it is for and how it works

"A characteristically acerbic analysis of the archetypal organisational unit of capitalism." -- Andrew Hill, Financial Times, "Best Books of 2024: Business"

Shortlisted for the 2024 Financial Times and Schroders Business Book of the Year Award

In the world of Adam Smith and Karl Marx, capitalists built and controlled mills and factories. That relationship between capital and labor continued in the automobile assembly lines and petrochemical plants of the twentieth century.

But no longer: products and production have dematerialized. The goods and services provided by the leading companies of the twenty-first century appear on your screen, fit in your pocket, or occupy your head. Ownership of the means of production is a redundant concept. Workers are the means of production; increasingly, they take the plant home. Capital is a service bought from a specialist supplier with little influence over customer businesses. The professional managers who run modern corporations do not exert authority because they are wealthy; they are wealthy because they exert authority.

John Kay's incisive overhaul of our ideas about business redefines our understanding of successful commercial activity and the corporation -- and describes how we have come to "love the product" as we "hate the producer." This is a brilliant and original work from one of the greatest economists.

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Price Summary

  • We started tracking this book on December 20, 2024.
  • This book was $35.00 when we started tracking it.
  • The price of this book has changed 5 times in the past 191 days.
  • The current price of this book is $15.45 last checked 16 hours ago.
  • The lowest price to date was $15.45 last reached on June 28, 2025.
  • This book has been $15.45 one time since we started tracking it.
  • The highest price to date was $35.00 last reached on December 20, 2024.
  • This book has been $35.00 one time since we started tracking it.
  • This book is currently at its lowest price since we started tracking it.

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  • Text-to-Speech: Disabled
  • Lending: Disabled
  • Print Length: 448 Pages
  • File Size: 19 KB

We last verified the price of this book about 16 hours ago. At that time, the price was $15.45. This price is subject to change. The price displayed on the Amazon.com website at the time of purchase is the price you will pay for this book. Please confirm the price before making any purchases.