Shareholder primacy

This article analyzes how Johnson & Johnson's long-term inclusion of asbestos in baby powder, leading to thousands of cancer cases, reveals how core values like the Credo are undermined under pressure from shareholder primacy and financial targets, emphasizing the need to embed values into organizational structures.

J&J sold asbestos-laced baby powder for decades, causing cancer in thousands, despite its Credo stating 'patients, doctors, and nurses first'; the root cause was unconscious alignment with shareholder primacy, where financial metrics overrode ethics—highlighting that values must be embedded in systems, not just slogans.