The primary reason for the divergence between the shareholder wealth maximization goal and the actual goals pursued by management has been attributed to

separation of ownership and control

Explanation:

One of the advantages of corporations is said to be professional management, i.e. the owners of the corporation do not run the corporation, professional managers do. The shareholder maximization goal theory states that management should focus on maximizing the present value of of the shareholders' wealth, but many times the theory doesn't apply to the real world.

Do you remember a few years ago when GM and Chrysler went bankrupt and the shareholders lost billions of dollars? Only the shareholders lost money, because top management of both companies still collected hundreds of millions dollars in benefits and compensation plans, and they traveled on private planes while asking for government bailouts. Many times the agents (management) put their own interest before the interest of the principal (shareholders). And that happened with every single company that went bankrupt during the last great recession, including banks, insurance companies, mortgage companies, etc. Even today corporations  might be losing money, but top management is making millions.

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