Value Creation, Appropriation, and Distribution: How Firms Contribute to Societal Economic Inequality
区分了价值创造、攫取与分配，指出股东财富最大化导向使价值分配偏向股东和高管，加剧了全球的经济不平等，呼吁组织学者研究企业的价值分配角色。
Firms are central to wealth creation and distribution, but their role in economic inequality in a society remains poorly studied. In this essay, we define and distinguish value distribution from value creation and value appropriation. We identify four value distribution mechanisms that firms engage in and argue that shareholder wealth maximization approach skews the value distribution toward shareholders and top executives, which in turn contributes to rising economic inequalities around the world. We call on organizational scholars to study the value distribution role of firms and its consequences for society, and introduce the articles in this volume of the special issue on economic inequality, business, and society.