Part of the problem with many publishers being dicks in the way they conduct business is due to the pervasive pressure to "maximise shareholder profit". This is a universally accepted principle that many economists are realising isn't working out as well as it was intended. It's a sound idea in general but the true definition of shareholder value seems to have been lost and current practice is dysfunctional. Today's shareholder value ethic seems, to me, to show shareholders tend not to have any inherent interest in the nature of the business but rather see it as just one cash cow from which to milk money in their portfolio of cash cow investments. This results in poor and unsustainable business practices by those in the C-Suite looking to please the shareholders in order to get their performance bonuses.<br><br>As soon as shareholder returns start dipping, the first point of call to claw back profit is to start putting the squeeze on those at the bottom of the company hierarchy pyramid, that means employee salaries, cost-of-living increases stop, benefits start vanishing," pensions dumbed down or cancelled etc. This is what seems to be happening at Activision Blizzard with the CEO Kotick cutting costs in order to keep shareholders constant expectation of rapidly increasing levels of growth for their dividends. Little wonder then that overhyping products has also arisen as a way to maximise profit.<br><br>Here are some articles on just how broken the maximise shareholder value mindset appears to be:<br><br><a href=""https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/blog/maximising-shareholder-value-irony"">https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/blog/maximising-shareholder-value-irony</a><br><a href=""https://www.amazon.com/The-Shareholder-Value-Myth-Shareholders/dp/1605098132"">https://www.amazon.com/The-Shareholder-Value-Myth-Shareholders/dp/1605098132</a><br><a href=""https://www.irishtimes.com/business/personal-finance/could-maximising-shareholder-value-be-the-dumbest-idea-in-the-world-1.2004179"">https://www.irishtimes.com/business/personal-finance/could-maximising-shareholder-value-be-the-dumbest-idea-in-the-world-1.2004179</a><br><a href=""https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/comment/8583476/Forget-shareholders-maximise-consumer-value-instead.html"">https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/comment/8583476/Forget-shareholders-maximise-consumer-value-instead.html</a><br><a href=""https://wapo.st/2IwQtiE"">https://wapo.st/2IwQtiE</a>"