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Shareholder Satisfaction or Societal Benefit? Coalition Support and Goal Prioritization.

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Title: Shareholder Satisfaction or Societal Benefit? Coalition Support and Goal Prioritization.
Authors: Zhang, Cyndi Man1 (AUTHOR) cyndizhang@smu.edu.sg, Hu, Helen Wei2 (AUTHOR) hehu@unimelb.edu.au, Yoshikawa, Toru3 (AUTHOR) toru.yoshikawa@waseda.jp
Source: Journal of Business Ethics. Nov2025, Vol. 202 Issue 2, p307-334. 28p.
Subject Terms: Organizational goals, Profitability, Resource allocation, Coalitions, Stockholders, Theory of the firm, Corporate governance, Corporate giving
Abstract: Research on the behavioral theory of the firm has established that the profitability goal triggers various firm actions, but it has yet to thoroughly explore which other goals may gain prominence in directing firm resources if the profitability goal has been achieved. We identify shareholder satisfaction and societal benefit as two additional organizational goals and predict that when firms have achieved their profitability aspirations, the financial resources allocated to pursue these goals depend on the dominance of coalitions supporting or opposing them. Drawing on the coalition theory within the behavioral theory of the firm, we theorize that the prioritization and pursuit of a goal depend on the relative power of its supporting coalition within a firm's governance body, including top decision-makers like CEOs and board members. By examining 2071 Chinese listed firms, we find that the relative strength of the shareholder-value coalition (supporting shareholder satisfaction) and the state-endorsement coalition (supporting societal benefit) affects firms' resource allocation toward dividend payments and corporate philanthropy in distinct ways. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Journal of Business Ethics is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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  Data: Shareholder Satisfaction or Societal Benefit? Coalition Support and Goal Prioritization.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Zhang%2C+Cyndi+Man%22">Zhang, Cyndi Man</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> cyndizhang@smu.edu.sg</i><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Hu%2C+Helen+Wei%22">Hu, Helen Wei</searchLink><relatesTo>2</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> hehu@unimelb.edu.au</i><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Yoshikawa%2C+Toru%22">Yoshikawa, Toru</searchLink><relatesTo>3</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> toru.yoshikawa@waseda.jp</i>
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Journal+of+Business+Ethics%22">Journal of Business Ethics</searchLink>. Nov2025, Vol. 202 Issue 2, p307-334. 28p.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Organizational+goals%22">Organizational goals</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Profitability%22">Profitability</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Resource+allocation%22">Resource allocation</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Coalitions%22">Coalitions</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Stockholders%22">Stockholders</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Theory+of+the+firm%22">Theory of the firm</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Corporate+governance%22">Corporate governance</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Corporate+giving%22">Corporate giving</searchLink>
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
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  Data: Research on the behavioral theory of the firm has established that the profitability goal triggers various firm actions, but it has yet to thoroughly explore which other goals may gain prominence in directing firm resources if the profitability goal has been achieved. We identify shareholder satisfaction and societal benefit as two additional organizational goals and predict that when firms have achieved their profitability aspirations, the financial resources allocated to pursue these goals depend on the dominance of coalitions supporting or opposing them. Drawing on the coalition theory within the behavioral theory of the firm, we theorize that the prioritization and pursuit of a goal depend on the relative power of its supporting coalition within a firm's governance body, including top decision-makers like CEOs and board members. By examining 2071 Chinese listed firms, we find that the relative strength of the shareholder-value coalition (supporting shareholder satisfaction) and the state-endorsement coalition (supporting societal benefit) affects firms' resource allocation toward dividend payments and corporate philanthropy in distinct ways. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
– Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright
  Label:
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  Data: <i>Copyright of Journal of Business Ethics is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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RecordInfo BibRecord:
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      – Type: doi
        Value: 10.1007/s10551-025-06018-5
    Languages:
      – Code: eng
        Text: English
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        PageCount: 28
        StartPage: 307
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      – SubjectFull: Organizational goals
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Profitability
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Resource allocation
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Coalitions
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Stockholders
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Theory of the firm
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      – SubjectFull: Corporate governance
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      – SubjectFull: Corporate giving
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      – TitleFull: Shareholder Satisfaction or Societal Benefit? Coalition Support and Goal Prioritization.
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            NameFull: Zhang, Cyndi Man
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            NameFull: Hu, Helen Wei
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            NameFull: Yoshikawa, Toru
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            – D: 25
              M: 11
              Text: Nov2025
              Type: published
              Y: 2025
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              Value: 202
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