The theory of directional cables, is that the shield that surrounds the two signal carrying wires should ideally be grounded to the component that carries the higher signal level (noise pickup would be grounded out at that point) to be the most effective. In reality I don't think that it makes that much difference. The few cables that I have that are marked like that I do try to install the right way around just in case.
Connecting a shield at one end can help break up ground loops, not sure just how effective that would be with unbalanced signals when the signal has to travel though a connection wire that is grounded at both ends anyway.
If you think about it, the component grounding may be different, some older components will "ground" only on the neutral while others (more modern) will ground to real house ground. So connecting the shield on the driver side (typically the low impedance side) and using it only as a shield for the transmission makes some sense.
Also, if the components are on different AC runs, then their grounds may indeed be at different potential. Indeed their HOT may be on different sides of the 240V... so, that could cause ground loops.
IMHO it doesn't hurt anything, it's one of those things that might help in some situations and not in others. In my own experience, my digital components are on a different homerun from my analog components. They are all on the same side of the 240V so there should be no difference. I got both unidirectional and bidirectional interconnects. I honestly didn't care when I bought them, I was looking for used high quality interconnects and that's what matters to me.
Complaining about this is useless since it's benign in most situations and likely useful in some.
Of course, my cables do use a liquid shield of triple virgin semi-solid organic mercury mined by monks in the high altitudes of the Andes. And they got signed, hence they are quadruple signature models. It makes the sound shimmery. If you can't hear it, then your components are simply not good enough and your Tice Clock needs a new battery.