ABSTRACT
Corporations make money for shareholders, of course, but this should be part of much wider responsibilities. Focussing on shareholder value has been one of the dimmest ideas ever introduced, encouraging executives to focus on manipulating the figures to satisfy the short time horizon of investment managers. Corporations require a purpose that meshes with the needs of society cementing the corporation at the foundations of a sustainable and resilient economy; shareholder value does little to support this purpose. Corporations should re-examine their core purpose, not to deliver shareholder value, but to find and define their place within society and the economy. Corporations have to move quickly for migrating successful business models to new markets because it is fair game for the incumbent local corporations to observe copy and deploy a similar business model. Copying the same business model in the same market is best avoided as it initiates a price-based competition which can detrimental to both commercial parties.
