Editing Shareholder value (section)

=== Loss of growth and productivity ===
Business experts have criticized shareholder value for failing to materialize economic growth and increased productivity. Despite decades of research and dozens of studies, there is negligible strong evidence that shareholder value theory has produced better results for businesses (studies that did provide evidence of shareholder value being beneficial generally were not able to be replicated; Stout). Since the inception and widespread application of shareholder value theory, returns on invested capital have steadily decreased.<ref name=":2" /> One explanation for this trend is reduced investment in innovation. Studies have shown that [[publicly traded]] companies (who have a share price) invest about half as much as [[privately held companies]] in the United States.<ref name=":2" /> Even shareholders have had disappointing results with poor returns on investment and a reduction in the population of publicly traded companies by 40%.<ref name=":10">Stout, Lynn A., "The Shareholder Value Myth" (2013). Cornell Law Faculty Publications. Paper 771.</ref>

In addition to reduced growth, critics also point to reduced productivity. Shareholder value can have a negative effect on employee morale as the entire mission of the corporation becomes the generation of wealth for shareholders. Because of this reduction of motivation, corporations need to engage in more top-down and control-oriented management strategies, one such example being the massive rise in the use of [[non-compete agreement]]s. Despite such efforts (or because of them), low employee morale has negative effects on business. Less motivated employees are less energetic and produce less and are less likely to innovate.<ref name=":2" />

A further inefficiency of shareholder value is the growth of [[financialization]]. The financial industry has ballooned in size following the use of shareholder value, largely due to the outsized importance placed upon shareholders by corporations.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Ho|first=Karen|date=October 12, 2020|title=Why the Stock Market is Rising Amidst a Pandemic and Record, Racialized Inequality|url=https://americanethnologist.org/features/pandemic-diaries/introduction-intersecting-crises/why-the-stock-market-is-rising-amidst-a-pandemic-and-record-racialized-inequality|website=American Ethnological Society}}</ref><ref name=":2" /> The large financial sector is a drain on the entire United States economy, costing roughly 300 billion dollars per year.<ref name=":2" /> This is because the financial sector does not engage in actual production.