Osakeyhtiön toiminnan tarkoitus ja sen suhde yhteiskuntavastuuseen
Avainsanat:
voitontuottamistarkoitus, osakeyhtiö, yhteiskuntavastuu, johdon tehtäväAbstrakti
According to the Finnish Limited Liability Companies Act, the purpose of a company is to generate profit to its shareholders, unless otherwise provided in the Articles of Association of the company. On the other hand, it has been suggested that a company would also have a social purpose. The aim of this article is to find out, whether the purpose to generate profit contradicts the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).
In order to fulfil the purpose of profit generation, the management of the company must act accordingly. The Limited Liability Companies Act provides that the management of the company shall act with due care and promote the interests of the company. In practice, promoting the interests of the company means acting in accordance with the purpose of the company.
However, the idea of the CSR is that also the management has other duties than those towards shareholders and other duties provided by the law, as well. Several studies on the correlation between the result/market value of the company and CSR have been conducted, but the results are somewhat conflicting. Thus, the management must act in accordance with its abilities while making decisions on the CSR strategy. If the management has complied with its duty to act with due care and to promote the interests of the company in this decision-making process, the measures cannot be considered to be contrary to the Limited Liability Companies Act – even if the measures prove to be unprofitable afterwards. Therefore, if the CSR is used as a strategic tool for increasing the competitiveness, it does not contradict the company’s purpose of generating profit to its shareholders. If, on the other hand, the management prioritises promoting the society’s welfare over the interests of the company, it acts against the presumed purpose of the company provided by the Limited Liability Companies Act.
