The stockholder theory states that stockholders advance capital to corporate managers who act as agents in advancing their interests. This theory was forwarded by Milton Friedman

Milton Friedman

Milton Friedman was an American economist, statistician, academic, and author who taught at the University of Chicago for more than three decades...

, who was quoted saying, "There is one and only one social responsibility of business: to use its resources to engage in activities designed to increase its profits so long as it stays within the rules of the game, which is to say, engages in open and free competition, without deception or fraud." This can be found in M. Friedman, Capitalism and Freedom

Capitalism and Freedom

Capitalism and Freedom is a book by Milton Friedman originally published in 1962 by the University of Chicago Press which discusses the role of economic capitalism in liberal society. It sold over 400,000 copies in the first 18 years and more than half a million since 1962. It has been translated...

 (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1962) p. 133.

The idea of the stockholder theory, some argue, is inconsistent with the idea of corporate social responsibility

Corporate social responsibility

Corporate social responsibility is a form of corporate self-regulation integrated into a business model...

 at the cost of the stakeholder. For example, a company donating services or goods to help those hurt in a natural disaster, in some ways, may be considered not taking action in the best interest of the shareholder. Some may argue that goods provided to society in a time of need builds further allegiance to a corporation and in theory, meeting the stockholder theory's requirement to look in the best interest of the stockholder.