Beyond the Bottom Line

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 unchartered 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?

Are you ready to think Beyond the Bottom Line?

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

October 2019

A monthly podcast debating what it means to go Beyond the Bottom Line. Featuring Oxera experts and leaders in business and finance. Tim Jenkinson, Professor of Finance and Director of the Private Equity Institute at Saïd Business School, Oxford University, and Partner at Oxera, says that the decisions of asset managers are being driven by asset owners, and asks if those owners are prepared to make the kinds of trade-off required to fundamentally change the purpose of a business. Investors continue to be comfortable with the idea of making short-run versus long-run trade-offs by investing in companies that have long-term sustainable business, but the difficulty arises when there are potential trade-offs in profitability.

GI pricing practices market study: over-reaction or a long time coming?

October 2019

‘Brexit means Brexit’, but will state aid rules in the UK be lost in transition?

September 2019

Labour markets: a blind spot for merger control?

September 2019

EU broadband: co-investing in a faster future

September 2019

Rolling out very high-capacity networks (VHCNs) across Europe to deal with ever-increasing broadband demands is challenging. To incentivise investment, the European Commission has introduced new conditions relating to co-investment agreements, including a promise (subject to certain conditions) not to regulate SMP operators that enter into an investment agreement with at least one other operator. Peter Culham, Senior Adviser, Felipe Flórez Duncan, Partner, and Michael Weekes, Senior Consultant, ask: is it enough to unlock investment in VHCNs?

Company responses to Ofwat’s slow-track draft determinations

September 2019

Introduction Water companies have recently responded to Ofwat’s slow-track draft determinations (DD). The key themes from those responses can be put into three key categories:cost assessment; financial issues; outcome targets.Cost assessment While supportive in certain areas, a number of companies...

More from the archive

Women in Economics

‘There was a time when women in the economy, women in employment, women in finance were not seen as macro-critical. That’s no longer the case.’

Those are the words of Christine Lagarde, IMF Managing Director, ahead of International Women’s Day. It’s true, as Lagarde observes, that the landscape is changing. But is gender balance happening quickly enough?

Read the full article