Shareholders were seen as key players in the market for achieving shareholder democracy. Scholars in the early 1900s focused on the power of large corporations, but the 1929 crash shifted attention back to the market. In the 1970s and 1980s, the idea that shareholders could protect themselves became dominant, with a push for a clear separation between shareholders and those in control of companies. This meant that unhappy shareholders were advised to either vote or sell their shares.