> This isn't in and of itself a "bad" thing, it is what business does

Yes it is. If you're hollowing out your value prop you better be returning at least some, if not a majority, of that value back to your users in the form of price drops or increased service levels. We have all been Stockholm Syndrome'd into believing otherwise as our favorite products and services institutionalize themselves into nothingness.

Ownership and management are mere stakeholders in the business, equal with (and no more) than customers and employees.