Sustainable value creation. From a country to a corporate perspective

This book aims to advance the discussion on concepts such as value, wealth and richness, both from a country and a corporate perspective. Buying junk food, the consumption of legalized drugs such as tobacco, or even the compulsive purchasing of new models of smart phones, the second or third car bought by a city dweller or any other tangible property characterized by a short transient joy, compute positively in the GDP calculation. However, all of these have no, or almost non-existent, marginal utility, for the person who obtains them. The GDP approach does not consider the harmful effects on physical and mental health, on the environment, and the legacy to future generations that these consumptions bring about. At a corporate level, to secure a long-lasting achievement, companies must pay attention to the wide sphere of stakeholders relating to them - employees, customers, suppliers, financial partners, State, local authorities and public administration, natural environment and local communities - in addition to shareholders only. The validity of the corporate sustainable approach is empirically analyzed in this book through an analysis of a sample of European listed companies.