Profits, Not Causes: The enduring wisdom of shareholder primacy

A few years ago, at a risk-management conference for big-wave surfers, I witnessed a heated debate over the latest innovation: an inflatable vest that could prevent drowning if a surfer wiped out. The vest was a technological marvel that had taken years to develop. Two vendors made the product: Patagonia, which made a black vest; and Quiksilver, which made a red one.

The crux of the debate was that inexperienced surfers who used the vest might feel emboldened to take undue risks, harming themselves and potentially others. Patagonia’s announcement that it would sell the vest only to experienced surfers brought lots of closed-eye head-nodding among the tanned, fit, and flip-flop-wearing surfers. That crowd fiercely disapproved of Quiksilver, which said that it would restrict the number of stores carrying its vest but would be more liberal about whom it would sell to. One well-known surfer said to me, “You see these guys out there on the waves in the red vests—they don’t belong there. . . . Quiksilver is just about making money.”

I later spoke with a Quiksilver executive who winced when I told him this story. He pointed out that his company is not a charity and had spent years and many resources developing the vest. “Besides,” he said, “are we going to not sell something that can save someone’s life?”

Patagonia is a privately owned company; its owner is entitled to sell to whomever he pleases. Quiksilver is a publicly traded company that, in theory, anyway, should be primarily concerned with maximizing profits for its shareholders. But this principle—shareholder primacy—is undergoing a rethink in the business world.

.https://www.city-journal.org/shareholder-primacy

Profits, Not Causes: The enduring wisdom of shareholder primacy

Profits, Not Causes: The enduring wisdom of shareholder primacy

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