Vatiero, Massimiliano 2016 Although economies, business practices, and living standards have converged since WWII, corporate structures continue to differ among the advanced economies of the world. Looking at the diversity of corporate structures of large-sized firms around the world (and over time) would fascinate Charles Darwin. This work develops a critical review of the literature on political determinants of corporate governance through the Darwinian theory (including some Lamarckian aspects). As Darwin, in his work "On the Origin of Species", explicates the diversity of species of tortoises, finches, and iguanas of the Galapagos Islands, so Darwinism may contribute in understanding the origin and the persistence of corporate diversity. In particular, this article takes into account politics-driven variations, their inheritances, and the subsequent selection of advantageous "corporate" attributes. application/pdf https://susi.usi.ch/global/documents/318779 https://n2t.net/ark:/12658/srd1318779 https://susi.usi.ch/documents/318779/files/wp1604.pdf eng info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/ark/12658/srd1318779 info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess License undefined Corporate governance Darwin politics path-dependency info:eu-repo/classification/udc/34 On the (political) origin of "corporate governance" species http://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_816b