Summary:

This article describes the attempt to unite Shareholder-Value-Management and Social Responsibility in theory and in practice in a new management and controlling system called Value-Based-Responsibility (VBR). Thereby, the classical and frequently criticized Shareholder-Value-Orientation is further developed to become a Value-Based-Responsibility, a management concept which is a “regulative idea” and a “governance tool” at the same time. Experience, attitudes, trends, and conditions for implementation of the Value-Based-Responsibility are elaborated on the basis of a three year long study at the Top Management of Degussa AG and E.ON AG. Current results from expert interviews held with board members from both companies are presented in this article. The authors ascertain that (1) a takeover of Social Responsibility is explicitly desired by the Top Management of global acting corporations, and (2) that Social Responsibility should be integrated into a superior management and controlling system, thus making it also applicable as controlling tool, and that (3) Cultural Due Diligences and M&A-Standards are rather considered purposive, while Ethics Commissions and Ethical Trainings are rather rejected as instruments, and that (4) Mergers and Acqui-sitions (M&A) as a substantial point of radical changes in companies repre-sent an ideal field of implementation for Social Responsibility. The findings and results of the whole study will be published at the end of this year.