The sound of smashing looms and the future of corporate purpose

This viewpoint reviews the current golden age of corporate purpose and raises the question as to the efficacy of corporate purpose and contributions to social value. The author warns that in the context of global populism, decades of stagnant real wages may bring back the era of contentious capital/labor relations and fundamental questions about the capitalist system.

The viewpoint reflects on longer-term economic and social changes drawn from the literature and uses secondary sources on corporate purpose and the changing nature of work to suggest that corporations need to look at their corporate purpose efforts more critically.

The author finds that there is indeed a growing cause for concern in recent events that reflect new anger at income inequality and its root causes.

As a viewpoint, the findings are, by definition, the author’s own interpretation of the forces at work in capital/labor relations and, therefore, largely subjective.

The corporations that are persuaded to take a more focused look at their wage and labor practices may reap significant reputational benefits in an increasingly contentious environment.

Great upheavals cause great change, but also great suffering. If a movement to reframe capital/labor relations can take hold before the next abrupt caesura, much social conflict can be avoided.

While there is widespread discussion about new ideas such as the universal minimum, it is largely taking place in academia not in the policy space and less still inside corporations.