ABSTRACT
This chapter shows whether the stakeholder model can be a more suitable corporate objective. It clarifies the concept of stakeholders and provides further justification and responses to the main criticisms. Long-termism itself is an inherent requirement of the stakeholder model; both intended and unintended short-termism are explicitly abandoned. The chapter focuses on the issue of accountability of directors in the context of the stakeholder model. Descriptively, stakeholder theory should be able to justify its ability to reflect the reality in practice; instrumentally, it should justify the positive connection between the stakeholder model and corporate performance; and normatively, the fundamental moral or philosophical principles should be appealed to in order to justify its foundation. But in order to avoid reiteration, the chapter also focuses on firm-specific investment and internalisation of negative externalities in order to justify their interests' deserving a normative consideration.
