Corporations for Future? – Die Zielfunktion der deutschen Aktiengesellschaft im Spiegel unternehmenstheoretischer Überlegungen

Climate change, (the social implications of) digitization and a stark contrast the between advancing globalization of (financial) markets and politically induced trade warfare shape the global economic and regulatory discourse. An intuitively well- founded demand that is regularly voiced in the context of corresponding debates is that businesses should put more emphasis on ethically responsible conduct and demonstrate more social commitment. Nevertheless, it seems questionable whether this assessment is, in fact, sufficiently substantiated in order to withstand a nuanced scholarly analysis. Large, multinational corporations undeniably possess the ability to exert considerable influence - both positive and negative - on societal progress through their decision-making. There are good arguments, however, to suggest that normatively desirable objectives are actually best achieved by subscribing to a contemporary interpretation of the traditional shareholder value doctrine - and not via the intuitive path of calling on the corporate form to pursue outright societal objectives by way of regulation. In any case, the contemporary discourse shows this: the functional positioning of large corporations in the 21st century-context of Fridays for Future and “homeland first”-politics requires a fundamental reassessment. This paper thus pursues the desirable aim of mapping the legal and economic foundation of the firm - exemplified by the German stock corporation - in its newer and most recent form, thereby setting the stage and providing thought-provoking impulses for future research.