It... depends. The problem is that "maximizing shareholder value" is what corporations should do, but it's also ill-defined. You see this all the time in deba

It... depends. The problem is that "maximizing shareholder value" is what corporations should do, but it's also ill-defined. You see this all the time in debates about whether a company should re-invest earnings or pay dividends. The reality is that "maximizing shareholder value" is just rather vague, therefore meaningless. You need much more guidance than that. If "maximizing shareholder value" is often misconstrued in some particular way leading to accidental value destruction, then I would say that misunderstanding is akin to a virus, yes.