The DOI matches its Crossref record; 2 of the 2 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Maximizing shareholder value: a new ideology for corporate governance
Abstract
The decade-long boom in the US stock market and the more recent boom in the US economy have fostered widespread belief in the economic benefits of the maximization of shareholder value as a principle of corporate governance. In this paper, we provide an historical analysis of the rise of shareholder value as a principle of corporate governance in the United States, tracing the transformation of US corporate strategy from an orientation towards retention of corporate earnings and reinvestment in corporate growth through the 1970s to one of downsizing of corporate labour forces and distribution of corporate earnings to shareholders over the past two decades. We then consider the recent performance of the US economy, and raise questions about the relation between the maximization of shareholder value and the sustainability of economic prosperity.
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“For instance, Lazonick and O'Sullivan (2000) note that the behaviors of firms in the post-1980s have changed towards more oriented to the maximization of shareholder value and have entrenched as a principle of corporate governance.”
From Financialization and the Labor Share of Income (2019) · cites this paper as Lazonick and O'Sullivan (2000)
In the citing paper
“The 'real' sector is also increasingly embracing rent extraction business models”
From Mapping modern economic rents: the good, the bad, and the grey areas (2023) · cites this paper as Lazonick and O'Sullivan, 2000
In the citing paper
“In particular, modern shareholders (or more precise the funds that manage shares) have come to place a strong emphasis on the short-term value of the companies' share price above and beyond long-term investments (Lazonick and O'Sullivan, 2000;Haldane, 2011).”
From Mapping modern economic rents: the good, the bad, and the grey areas (2023) · cites this paper as Lazonick and O'Sullivan, 2000
Citations
Cites
Stock Ownership Patterns, Stock Market Fluctuations, and Consumption
Poterba, J. M., Samwick, A., Shleifer, A., & Shiller, R. J. (1995) · Brookings Papers on Economic Activity · doi:10.2307/2534614 · Cited by 331
The Changing Face of Job Loss in the United States, 1981-1995
Farber, H. S., Haltiwanger, J., & Abraham, K. G. (1997) · Brookings Papers on Economic Activity Microeconomics · doi:10.2307/2534755 · Cited by 303
Flagged first, then by citations
Research works printed but not linked: 5
- London: Penguin.
- Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
- Washington, DC: AEI Press.
- American Economic Review 63: 134-9.
- Accounts, Flows and Outstandings, Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office. US Bureau of Labor Statistics (various years) Employment and Earnings, Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office. US Bureau of the Census (1976) Historical Statistics of the United States from the Colonial Times to the Present, Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office. US Congress (various years) Economic Report of the President, Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office. US Department of Commerce (various years) Statistical Abstract of the United States, Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office. Weinstein, M. and Kochan, T. (1995) ‘The limits of diffusion: recent developments in industrial relations and human resource practices’, in R. Locke, T. Kochan and M. Piore (eds) Employment Relations in a Changing World, Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
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Sorted by citations
Hall, P. A., & Soskice, D. W. (2001) · doi:10.1093/0199247757.001.0001 · Cited by 8,956
An Introduction to Varieties of Capitalism
(2001) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/0199247757.003.0001 · Cited by 3,236
Making sense of financialization
van der Zwan, N. (2014) · Socio-Economic Review · doi:10.1093/ser/mwt020 · Cited by 1,434
Orhangazi, Ö. (2008) · Cambridge Journal of Economics · doi:10.1093/cje/ben009 · Cited by 983
Doing More with Less: Innovation Input and Output in Family Firms
Durán, P., Kammerlander, N. H., van Essen, M., & Zellweger, T. M. (2015) · Academy of Management Journal · doi:10.5465/amj.2014.0424 · Cited by 956
Metadata
- Authors
- Lazonick, W., & O'Sullivan, M.
- ORCID
- Lazonick, William
- Venue
- Economy and Society
- Publisher
- Informa UK Limited
- Published
- 2000-01
- Volume
- 29
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 13-35
- ISSN
- 0308-5147 (ISSN-L)
- 1469-5766
- OpenAlex
- W4254928272
- Semantic Scholar
- 009bf76a12cc7f138e729ae38b96c780398d3920
- Cited by
- 1,970
- References
- 2
- Citations by year
- 2026: 96 · 2025: 88 · 2024: 130 · 2023: 132 · 2022: 124 · 2021: 171 · 2020: 128 · 2019: 152 · 2018: 121 · 2017: 127 · 2016: 85 · 2015: 78 · 2014: 62 · 2013: 66 · 2012: 56
- FWCI
- 85.97
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Economy and Society (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- European Commission
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Economics, Econometrics and Finance › Finance › Corporate Finance and Governance
- Social Sciences › Economics, Econometrics and Finance › Finance › Housing, Finance, and Neoliberalism
- Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Strategy and Management › Corporate Governance and Financial Management
- Keywords
- shareholder wealth maximization, corporate governance, business strategy, earnings retention, reinvestment, downsizing, stock market boom, economic prosperity, sustainability of economic growth, United States
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