Corporate governance structures are established to make sure corporations are accountable to their owners—the shareholders.
Our corporate governance goes beyond the company's relationship to our shareholders, because it reflects our relationship to society, and issues that matter to our key stakeholders can very quickly become important issues for our shareholders. As such, our objective is to balance fiduciary duty and accountability to generate long-term shareholder value, while also considering, in a transparent manner, the concerns of other stakeholders.
More information on Corporate Governance at Merck.