Cary,
I believe the spread is more closely related to volume than to range. However, it is also closely tied with its Exchange (or lack thereof).
I recently watched a company that I was following, Prime Retail (PRT), graduate from NASDAQ, where it was quoted at 13.625/14.125, to the NYSE, where it immediately began trading at 14.0625/14.125. I don't think this is unusual.
I am not sure where I would rank the shareholder in the hierarchy of the corporate constituency, but as an owner of the enterprise, the shareholder is certainly very important. You say: "I think management must concentrate all its efforts on being "customer-friendly", and shareholders will like the results." I think this approach is a bit narrow. Shareholder friendliness is extremely important, especially now that the public has increased its appetite for common stocks. It is really part and parcel of the public relations effort.
Employees are, of course, the third leg of the stool. No company gets anywhere today without treating its employees with respect and dignity. And it has been often remarked that the customer is rarely treated with respect if the employee is not similarly treated.
Choice of trading venue is not trivial IMHO, although for a company like AMAT, which is a member of S&P500, it may not be as critical an element as it seems to be for smaller companies, which often face inordinately large spreads on NASDAQ.
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