~ August 29, 2019  ~
Special Issue: Redefining the Purpose of the Corporation
With a landmark statement fresh from the Business Roundtable, we usher in the new semester with a special issue highlighting one of the most important debates in business today: the purpose of the corporation. How can a focus on stakeholders and common-sense management boost long-term value and help tackle some of our most complex problems?
PURPOSE OF THE CORPORATION
Virginia Law & Business Review: Lynn A. Stout (with commentary by Jonathan R. Macey)

Purpose or profit? For decades, there has been a widely-held belief that the responsibility of business is to maximize shareholder value. In this landmark article, Lynn Stout challenges the foundation of shareholder primacy, and what it means for business.
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PURPOSE OF THE CORPORATION
Fast Company: Rick Wartzman

The Business Roundtable's statement is a good start, but what will it take for business leaders to genuinely embrace stakeholder capitalism? (see also 5 Changes CEOs Can Make if They're Serious about Ending Shareholder Primacy)
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PURPOSE OF THE CORPORATION
Harvard Business Review: Claudine Gartenberg, George Serafeim

If the "business of business" is more than just business, how can companies drive profit through purpose? What role do employee buy-in, incentives, leadership and other factors play?
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PURPOSE OF THE CORPORATION
Council of Institutional Investors

Not everyone agrees with the Roundtable's new approach. Is it fair to worry that stakeholder governance may undermine managerial accountability? (also see this response to CII from Martin Lipton of leading corporate law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz)
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PURPOSE OF THE CORPORATION
The New York Times: Leo E. Strine Jr., Antonio Weiss

How can large institutional investors help build a more rational framework for corporate governance?
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PURPOSE OF THE CORPORATION
The Washington Post: Steven Pearlstein

"Most of what people find so distasteful about American capitalism--the ruthlessness, the greed, the inequality--has its roots in [the] misguided notion" of shareholder primacy. Are CEOs doing enough to reflect a changing society?
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