Mission of Business

Every once in a while, I will read about some company pushing back against the standard trope that a business’ purpose is to maximize profit, or more commonly, make money for the shareholders. The two companies that come top of mind are Patagonia and Chobani. This article covers Chobani.

Chobani, in this instance, has created a group of companies committed to helping the Afghan refugees and along the way reframe the business’ purpose or role in society.

““The sole purpose of business is to not just make money for shareholders, but to make society a better place,” Ulukaya said. While many have questioned this positioning, he stands behind it with both cultural and financial reasoning…”

“Chobani’s Program for Hiring Afghan Refugees Is Upending the Mission of American Businesses”, Cointorium, September 29, 2021.

Now, I’m kind of leery about all of those other companies, which include Amazon, Facebook, Pfizer, etc, really believing the expansion of corporate role in society. I think they are still firmly in the shareholder primacy that we’ve been in for maybe 40 or so years. I do believe Chobani and its executive do believe in the broader role companies play and its executive is walking his talk. However, even though I’m leery, I am still hoping that the constant evocation of stakeholder value rather than shareholder value will shift the belief system over time. Repeat it enough and maybe people, especially the younger generations, will start to shift their thinking and become more open to the idea of spreading the wealth throughout society and not just to the shareholder. Remember, workers are the ones delivering the services, making the goods, and selling the stuff – not the shareholders.

And so, another tiny chink in the wall.