what is the shareholder value maximization myth 
it is commonly understood that corporate directors and management have a duty to maximize shareholder value especially for publicly traded companies however legal rulings suggest that this commonly held belief is in fact a myth there is actually no legal duty to maximize profits while managing a corporation 1the idea can be traced in large part to the oversize effects of a single outdated and widely misunderstood ruling by the michigan supreme court in its 1919 decision in dodge v ford motor co which was about the legal duty of a controlling majority shareholder with respect to a minority shareholder and not about maximizing shareholder value legal and organizational scholars such as cornell university law professor lynn a stout and paris sciences po law school professor jean philippe rob who is a member of the bar in paris and new york have elaborated on this misconception 21