Companies need to be stakeholder-driven with focus on sustainability: Economist Philip Kotler

New Delhi: Amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic that has disrupted businesses and lives of people around the world, renowned American economist Professor Philip Kotler called for a need for companies to prioritise all stakeholders instead of just focusing on their shareholders.

Kotler said that in the post-pandemic world, businesses must not think just as profit machines but in terms of making the world a better place to live and sustain.

“Earth, this planet, is our stakeholder and companies should focus on making this world a better place by bringing in transparency as part of their corporate social responsibility,” said Kotler at the 17th international conference on ‘Management Strategies: Retrieval, Resilience & Re-modelling in post-COVID World’ organised by Jagannath International Management School, Vasant Kunj on Saturday.

In a passionate plea, Kotler emphasised that the companies should think about how they can increase the well-being and happiness of the people in society. “It is time that companies move from being shareholder-driven to stakeholder-driven,” he said.

“No doubt shareholders are very important to give a strong financial foundation to the business. It is important to think not just as profit machines but in terms of making the world a better place to live and sustain, to be able to pass it to the next generation,” Kotler added.

He further said that the businesses that practice conscious leadership are those that ultimately grow and prosper, while failure to evolve brings them down.

The conference was attended by several academicians and business leaders with Mr. Rohit Khosla, EVP Operations, Indian Hotels Company Limited, as the chief guest.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Amit Gupta, Chairman, JIMS, underlined the need for innovation and providing a culture that supports it. He stressed the need for businesses to be agile and resilient.

“An entrepreneurial mindset is indispensable at times like this,” said Gupta, adding that preparedness for any kind of crisis is important.