The first alternative is correct (A).
Large corporations are publicly traded, meaning that the company is divided into shares that are distributed in the financial market to investors. These investors, in turn, delegate a team of directors who make strategic decisions of the firm, theoretically independent. However, the directors make their decisions thinking about the profit that will pass to the owners of the companies' shares, to which they report.
This model, in a way, places the responsibility of business owners in the background. In the event of a lawsuit, the company is first investigated as well as its directors. In order to reach the owners, a more complex legal process is necessary.
A recent example: a mining company caused an environmental and human catastrophe in Brazil, destroying an ecosystem and killing hundreds of people. The shareholders were not held responsible, only the company as an institution is being processed. The board was fired, but the real owners of the company suffered nothing.
