ABSTRACT
Chapter 2 draws upon McMurtry and Noonan’s materialist ethics to conceptualise value as life value, where such value is worth creating when it contributes to the fundamental conditions for life to happen and to flourish. Although value creation is central to organisational theory, value is poorly understood, frequently conceived in simplistic terms and emptied of normative content. Porter and Kramer’s shared value creation proposal has been critiqued for obscuring power relations and value pluralism. Despite claims by organisations to be able to create win–win outcomes, grounded in aligned values and motivations, such situations may be rare, limited by lack of attention to reforming background conditions and mediating institutions. This chapter will take a philosophical approach to examining the meaning of value in organisations and systems, using this to outline the general features of an organisational model for life value creation.
