Depiction of Beyond the Bottom Line

Beyond the Bottom Line

20 Posts

What society expects from business is evolving rapidly. Beyond providing returns to shareholders, businesses play a critical systemic role in the development of society and guardianship of the global environment. For many, this is uncharted territory. Success will come only if we continue to discuss and debate some of the most pressing questions, such as what is the purpose of business? Do investors hold the key to a sustainable future? And what does it mean to have purpose that goes beyond the boardroom?

We must chip away together at seemingly difficult trade-offs until their complexities unravel and solutions begin to emerge. It is in this spirit that we ask businesses, organisations, and policymakers: are you ready to think Beyond the Bottom Line?

Beyond the Bottom Line: 20 posts

Articles
2 minute read
Depiction of Beyond the Bottom Line

Beyond the Bottom Line

What society expects from business is evolving rapidly. New business models mean that intermediaries are being removed and traditional value chains are being disrupted. Advances in AI and automation are having profound effects on employment. Communities are exerting enormous social pressure and questioning globalisation. Furthermore, we urgently need to… Read More

Articles
2 minute read
Depiction of What is the purpose of business?

What is the purpose of business?

Why are so many firms insisting on telling us what their ‘purpose’ is? David Jevons, Oxera Partner, has been looking at the role of business in today’s society and discusses the purpose of a corporate purpose. Since the 1970s, introductory economics and finance classes have taught that the purpose of a firm is to maximise shareholder wealth; yet today, some of the most successful and high-profile firms are keen to communicate a different purpose. Read More

Podcasts
< 1 minute read
Depiction of Episode one: The contribution of good corporate governance to the market valuation of European companies

Episode one: The contribution of good corporate governance to the market valuation of European companies

Brussels was the ideal setting for our most recent two-part Agenda podcast, where the European Contact Group brought together different stakeholders to discuss the results of Oxera’s report, An analysis of the EU governance framework for corporate reporting. In episode one of the podcast, we present and discuss the conclusions… Read More

Podcasts
< 1 minute read
Depiction of Episode two: The contribution of good corporate governance to the market valuation of European companies

Episode two: The contribution of good corporate governance to the market valuation of European companies

Brussels was the ideal setting for our most recent two-part Agenda podcast, where the European Contact Group brought together different stakeholders to discuss the results of Oxera’s report, An analysis of the EU governance framework for corporate reporting. In episode two of the podcast, the discussion addresses how, in practice,… Read More

Podcasts
< 1 minute read
Depiction of What is the role of the consumer in purpose-led business?

What is the role of the consumer in purpose-led business?

A monthly podcast debating what it means to go Beyond the Bottom Line. Featuring Oxera experts and leaders in business and finance. Read More

Podcasts
< 1 minute read
Depiction of Do investors hold the key to changing the purpose of business?

Do investors hold the key to changing the purpose of business?

A monthly podcast debating what it means to go Beyond the Bottom Line. Featuring Oxera experts and leaders in business and finance. Read More

Podcasts
< 1 minute read
Depiction of What is the purpose of business?

What is the purpose of business?

A monthly podcast debating what it means to go Beyond the Bottom Line. Featuring Oxera experts and leaders in business and finance. Read More

Articles
10 minute read
Depiction of What are firms for? Redefining corporate purpose

What are firms for? Redefining corporate purpose

What should be the purpose of a firm? To maximise profits or shareholder value, or to pursue wider societal objectives? Professor Julian Franks of London Business School, and Oxera Partner, discusses the roles of trust and implicit contracts in redefining corporate purpose. He looks at changes that may be required in regulated utilities, with a focus on water Read More

Articles
8 minute read
Depiction of Nature: the root of all capital?

Nature: the root of all capital?

Natural capital is relevant to all of us, not just those who are environmentally conscious. An unbalanced focus on financial or economic capital has led countries and companies to focus on policies that deliver short-term financial or economic gains, but at the expense of a longer-term loss in terms… Read More

Articles
10 minute read
Depiction of Ticking the boxes on a green self-assessment, and the risk of greenwashing

Ticking the boxes on a green self-assessment, and the risk of greenwashing

In EU competition law, the key criteria for green self-assessments for companies are ‘fair share’ and ‘indispensability’. But how can we assess these from an economics perspective? And how can we distinguish legitimate sustainability agreements from greenwashing? We consider how the European Commission deals with consumer benefits in its… Read More

Articles
8 minute read
Depiction of Investor compensation: seeing the wood for the trees

Investor compensation: seeing the wood for the trees

What is the purpose of investor compensation schemes? When, to what extent, and to whom should compensation be paid? Peter Andrews, Oxera Partner, and Jonathan Haynes, former Oxera Partner, consider a complex case in the High Court of Ireland following the failure of investment firm Custom House Capital. They look at the policy issues, and ask how economic analysis can help courts to determine which interpretations of statute best reflect the intentions of the legislators. Read More

Articles
9 minute read
Depiction of Meaningful purpose in business

Meaningful purpose in business

What is the purpose of a business? Recent years have seen growing social, political and market pressures on business leaders worldwide to go beyond simply creating short-term value for shareholders. Utilitalia—the federation of Italian water, energy, and municipal waste companies—asked Oxera to explore how a wider purpose can be embedded within an organisation, and how performance could be monitored. Read More

Articles
2 minute read
Depiction of Hidden talent: the economic benefits of social mobility

Hidden talent: the economic benefits of social mobility

Social mobility is widely considered to be intrinsically good: decoupling an individual’s prospects from their social status or family background is a key pillar of fairness and social justice. This perspective has filled philosophy textbooks and opinion columns, but what is less well understood is the role that social mobility plays in boosting productivity and economic output. Read More

Articles
7 minute read
Depiction of Consumer protection in the online economy

Consumer protection in the online economy

The Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (Autoriteit Consument en Markt, ACM) has recently published guidelines for online firms and other interested parties, indicating its view on which online business practices are allowed within the boundaries of consumer protection laws— and which are not. Annemieke Tuinstra, Senior Economist in ACM’s Chief Economist Team, discusses the economic and psychological concepts behind the guidelines Read More

Articles
3 minute read
Depiction of How does social media shape purposeful business?

How does social media shape purposeful business?

Society is playing a growing role in shaping the way that businesses operate. Reflecting this, online communities have become platforms to highlight good and bad business practice and help people coordinate responses. To what extent does this pressure influence core business operations? Can social media truly help to redefine the purpose of an organisation—and therefore the future of business? Tim Hogg, a behavioural economist at Oxera, takes a look at the role of social media in the context of thinking Beyond the Bottom Line. Read More

Articles
9 minute read
Depiction of Fairness and competition in online markets: friends or foes?

Fairness and competition in online markets: friends or foes?

Fairness is emerging as an increasingly important policy goal across sectors. We set out a framework for assessing fairness concerns, and examine the relationship between the aims of competition policy and fairness in current debates. Do the European Commission’s platform-to-business initiative and reputation systems for sharing platforms lead to fairer processes? And do online price differentiation and negotiations between platforms and content creators lead to fair outcomes? What is the role of competition in all of this? Read More

Articles
10 minute read
Depiction of Fair ground: a practical framework for assessing fairness

Fair ground: a practical framework for assessing fairness

Regulators are increasingly looking to firms to ensure that their practices are ‘fair’ in terms of the process followed (e.g. the type of data used) and the outcomes delivered (e.g. which consumers pay more). So, how can boards and senior managers satisfy themselves that practices are indeed fair and in line with their firm’s principles and risk appetite? We present Oxera’s practical framework, which has been used as a tool by senior decision-makers in financial services firms Read More

Articles
8 minute read
Depiction of It’s what you know about who you know: market power in digital platforms

It’s what you know about who you know: market power in digital platforms

In the digital services market, platform operators compete for the attention of consumers. However, there are increasing concerns about their degree of market power, which can be difficult to assess using the traditional tools of competition and regulation. As calls for further regulation increase, authorities must ensure that their interventions do not lead to unintended consequences, such as reducing the gains that such platforms bring to society Read More

Articles
7 minute read
Depiction of Competition regulation and consumer protection in financial services: are they natural bedfellows?

Competition regulation and consumer protection in financial services: are they natural bedfellows?

In most countries, financial conduct regulation and competition regulation are undertaken by separate institutions. Yet there are questions about the efficacy of this arrangement, given the results seen in UK financial markets, which can sometimes favour neither consumers nor efficient and innovative firms. Read More

Articles
9 minute read
Depiction of Please leave a message: has telecoms become too complex for consumers?

Please leave a message: has telecoms become too complex for consumers?

With an ever-increasing array of products, services and bundles available in the telecommunications market, and in a world in which consumers have limited computational power, it is not a straightforward task to discern the best option. Does this complexity cause consumer harm, and should regulators do anything about it? Read More