Business | Bipartisan Policy Center

What is the right role of a company? Is it only for the benefit of shareholders, as Milton Friedman argued in the 1970s? Is it a balancing act between shareholders, board, management and corporate social responsibility? Is it for the common good involving multiple stakeholders, including, but not limited to, shareholders, employees, communities and governments? These are some of the most pressing questions facing businesses, investors, regulators and various stakeholder groups.

In recent years, investors and advocacy groups have become more active in using corporate governance structures to influence business decisions on issues ranging from environmental protection to gun control to human rights. This trend, which shows no signs of abating, raises the broader question of how far the private sector should engage in public policy issues, and more specifically, whether the current corporate governance structure is designed to facilitate these activities. BPC’s Corporate Governance project explores these issues in an objective, two-pronged exchange of ideas.