The late Prof. Sumantra Ghoshal has been a writer I have admired for long. Speaking of the difference between value creation and shareholder value, he wrote that value creation is all about utility and functionality. It refers therefore to those the company serves rather than to those who own it.
The value creation logic, for example of 3M , a highly admired company is their constant and now legendary emphasis on innovation. Ghoshal says like the frugal farmer and housewife around the world, innovation comes from stretching all resources to the maximum possible. “The last squeak from the pig” is the Midwest expression of this principle he writes.
People at Work & Play 