Andrew C. Wicks

In 1984, R. Edward Freeman published his landmark book, Strategic Management: A Stakeholder Approach, a work that set the agenda for what we now call stakeholder theory. In the intervening years, the literature on stakeholder theory has become vast and diverse. This book examines this body of research and assesses its relevance for our understanding of modern business. Beginning with a discussion of the origins and development of stakeholder theory, it shows how this corpus of theory has influenced a variety of different fields, including strategic management, finance, accounting, management, marketing, law, health care, public policy, and environment. It also features in-depth discussions of two important areas that stakeholder theory has helped to shape and define: business ethics and corporate social responsibility. The book concludes by arguing that we should re-frame capitalism in the terms of stakeholder theory so that we come to see business as creating value for stakeholders.

The accumulated wisdom of a beloved business professor's signature course Who are we, and who am I? Why are we here, and why am I here? What is the good life, and what is my good life? For years, business ethics professor Andrew Wicks pursued these lines of inquiry in his perennially popular course Ultimate Questions and Creating Value for Stakeholders. Now his book distills the intellectual explorations and hard conversations he and his students navigated together in the classroom into an accessible form available to readers everywhere. Ultimate Questions is grounded in stakeholder theory: the idea that business leaders need to consider the humanity and complexity of all stakeholders— employees, community members, suppliers, and more— to thrive in ways that go beyond profit. It takes as a given that money is not the only goal of life or work and, like the course, encourages constant curiosity and a spirit of exploration.