What should CEOs consider in 2022? According to BlackRock: Stakeholder Capitalism; Social Purpose; and Public Engagement

Since 2012, Larry Fink, CEO of BlackRock, has written an open letter to CEOs of companies who are part of BlackRock’s portfolio. However, like other influential wall street voices of the past, his letters to CEOs have influence well beyond those investments under his management. Part of the reason that his letters have such influence is that, as the largest institutional investor in the world, BlackRock now boasts managing over $10 trillion in assets. In short, when Larry Fink speaks people tend to listen.

This year’s letter is about “stakeholder” capitalism, a company’s “social” purpose, and a call for CEOs to publicly engage on societal issues. The stakeholder capitalism he references is similar to that laid out by the Business Roundtable (BRT) in 2019. There, as BPC discussed, it was argued that successful companies don’t just look at profits and increasing value for shareholders, but rather look to their employees, suppliers, and the communities they operate as factors in their business decisions. It is debatable whether this was a new concept in 2019 or just a restatement of the position that to be successful, companies needed to take these other stakeholders into account.

Larry Fink goes on to address the fundamental principle of a corporate “purpose” and appears to advocate for a noteworthy change. No longer are companies to focus merely on their charter or “business” purpose, but rather companies should also have a “social” purpose. Importantly their CEOs should be a leading voice on societal issues because that’s what he believes stakeholders want. In particular, employees “are increasingly looking to their employer as the most trusted, competent, and ethical source of information – more so than government, the media, and NGOs.” However, elevating CEOs as an authority for information may not sit well with those that believe that social issues should be left to elected officials, and that a CEO’s role should be to address materially relevant stakeholders while maximizing shareholder value.

One concern with corporations addressing social issues is who determines the issues? Is it the CEO, the board, investors, or other stakeholders? Some argue that by focusing on materially relevant issues to a company’s long-term success collateral social issues can also be addressed. However, with the likely mandatory and prescriptive disclosure rules coming out of the SEC in the near term, CEOs that publicly weigh in on some societal issues, will certainly be pressured to make additional statements on other issues that may not be material to a company’s long-term success. This would almost certainly become more prevalent if CEOs become a “source of information.” Larry Fink argues that having a social purpose is not “about politics, or a social agenda, or even being woke.” However, the public perception of CEOs taking positions on social issues will likely be seen as a political or ideological agenda and may correspondingly have negative consequences.

Even if CEOs deftly navigate responses to social issues, a more fundamental question arises under a stakeholder capitalism model. How does a CEO decide which stakeholder takes precedent in making difficult decisions? For example, does a CEO keep an employee that should otherwise be terminated to support a societal good? In these inflationary times, should a CEO refuse to raise prices even though it may require pay cuts to employees? In deciding which store or plant to close, how will societal issues be factored into those decisions? In sum, which stakeholder takes precedent: the customer, the employee, the community, or some other stakeholder? These are fundamental questions that need to be answered if we truly are moving to a stakeholder system.