The Business Roundtable, an association of CEOs of major U.S.
corporations, recently issued its "Statement on the Purpose of
the Corporation." The statement underscores the Business
Roundtable's commitment to all stakeholders of corporations,
including their customers, employees, suppliers, communities and
shareholders. The statement is intended to reflect a modern
standard for corporate responsibility and represents a departure
from the Business Roundtable's prior endorsement of the
principles of shareholder primacy – namely, that corporations
exist principally to serve shareholders. It also signals that its
signatories are committed to balancing the interests of the various
stakeholders of their corporations, including (but not exclusively
focused on) their shareholders.
