Investigating the continued applicability of the enlightened shareholder value approach in company law
| dc.article.end-page | 36 | |
| dc.article.start-page | 1 | |
| dc.contributor.author | Hayath, Batool | |
| dc.contributor.supervisor | Mongalo, Tshepo H. | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2024-06-13T12:36:26Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2024-06-13T12:36:26Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2023 | |
| dc.description | Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Laws by Coursework and Research Report at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023 | |
| dc.description.abstract | Whether the objective of a company is purely the maximising of profits for its shareholders (the so-called ‘shareholder primacy’) or whether companies should also be run for the benefit of other stakeholders is a subject of much debate. Such debates have been in existence for quite some time, and they relate to two opposing schools of thought, one being the shareholder value theory and the other being the stakeholder value theory. This paper considers these two approaches and how they gave rise to a third approach, being the enlightened shareholder value approach (ESV). ESV is said to be a hybrid of the two approaches, and its adoption has found favour in certain jurisdictions such as the United Kingdom and South Africa. The main aspects of ESV are discussed in this paper. It also looks at how, on the basis that ESV gives precedence to shareholder interests (and merely provides for stakeholder interests to be considered as a means of enhancing shareholder value over time), its adoption has not resulted in substantial changes with regards to the protection of other stakeholders. In this regard, this paper considers an alternative to such theory, being the concept of the ‘purposeful business’, which has been advocated by the British Academy, and that, in light of the challenges facing society and other stakeholders today, such approach may be better suited as opposed to the ESV in helping to advance the interests of other stakeholders as a matter of pursuing the corporate purpose and/or objective | |
| dc.description.submitter | MM2024 | |
| dc.faculty | Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management | |
| dc.identifier.citation | Hayath, Batool. (2023). Investigating the continued applicability of the enlightened shareholder value approach in company law [Master’s dissertation, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg]. WireDSpace https://hdl.handle.net/10539/38655 | |
| dc.identifier.uri | https://hdl.handle.net/10539/38655 | |
| dc.language.iso | en | |
| dc.publisher | University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg | |
| dc.rights | © 2023 University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. | |
| dc.rights.holder | University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg | |
| dc.school | School of Law | |
| dc.subject | Shareholder primacy | |
| dc.subject | Pluralism | |
| dc.subject | Stakeholder theory | |
| dc.subject | Shareholder value | |
| dc.subject | Enlightened shareholder value | |
| dc.subject | Purpose of companies | |
| dc.subject | Best interests of the company | |
| dc.subject | Purposeful business | |
| dc.subject | Profitable solutions to people and planet | |
| dc.subject | British Academy | |
| dc.subject | UCTD | |
| dc.subject.other | SDG-8: Decent work and economic growth | |
| dc.title | Investigating the continued applicability of the enlightened shareholder value approach in company law | |
| dc.type | Dissertation |