This paper engages with the lively academic debate on the politicization of the firm and more specifically with Scherer and Palazzo’s recent works on a ‘political conception of corporate responsibility’. A number of critiques are formulated, in relation to both the discursive articulation of ‘political CSR’ in the way it constructs the political role of business and the normative argument advocating this politicization, focusing on possible unwanted effects. The paper then discusses how the proposed institutionalization of a political role for (...) firms may in fact lead to an even more ‘unpolitical’ society, borrowing this ‘unpolitical’ notion to Rosanvallon in order to problematize the very terminology of a ‘politicization’ of corporations. This problematization makes it possible to expose the oxymoronic nature of political CSR – indeed, it can be seen as an ‘unpolitical politicization’. Contrasting political government and unpolitical governance, the paper concludes on the dangers of the oxymoronic articulations that characterize deliberative governance initiatives. (shrink)

Responsibility is elaborated here as an ethic which reaches beyond codified and individualized norms of duty. As a relational ethic responsibility is considered for its power to address the planetary, ecological and human challenges of our time. We draw on philosopher Emmanuel Levinas’s work on relational responsibility, and, as is fitting from our context, on indigenous knowledge. These diverse cultural knowledge systems are both premised on putting the Other before self interest and are remarkable for their shared priorities of responsibility, (...) obligation and relationality as pre-eminent values. Responsibility is built on a powerful critique of the tenets of classical liberalism and associated economic theory. Sustainability espouses the importance of collaboration, which is necessarily relational. While relational responsibility cannot be confined to rules, this quality of human commitment can invest decision-making for sustainability. Could it be that ethical relationality is a key to moving beyond self interest and commercial goals to put responsibility for the viability of earth’s ecosystems as a priority across professional fields such as management, education, ethics and business? (shrink)

This paper proposes an engagement oriented corporation-stakeholder relationship in Corporate Social Responsibility programmes. It is a proposition which poses the two connected questions of how to move from solely public relation driven stakeholder management to social development oriented stakeholder participation and how Stakeholder Engagement can be measured. On the backdrop of Arnstein’s citizenship participation model and reasons for Stakeholder Engagement framework, the paper argues that Stakeholder Engagement is attainable and measurable. It argues that though Arnstein’s citizenship participation model was originally (...) intended for the relationship between government and local communities, the ever rising power of corporations makes the principle adaptable and transferable to corporate-stakeholder relationship. It proposes that by placing the reasons for stakeholder participation against levels of participation it will be possible to develop an inclusive Stakeholder Engagement model, render Stakeholder Engagement measurable and contribute in laying a foundation for developing a proactive approach to sustainable CSR that positively benefits both the company and society. (shrink)

We argue that the idea of ECC is more in line with libertarian than liberal thinking. The basic idea of ECC is the dislocation of the provider of citizenship rights from governments to corporations: corporations provide and administrate the same citizenship rights, which governments provided earlier, before the political processes started the privatization of these entitlements . According to John Rawls’ liberal viewpoint, citizens’ relations to the public structures of society are supposed to be fundamentally different from their relations to (...) private associations like business corporations. In libertarian thinking , instead, citizens relations to public institutions do not significantly differ from their relations to business corporations. Both are based on voluntary agreements, bringing forth the idea of a contract-society. Since ECC is backed up by this kind of contractsociety, it brings forth libertarian interpretations of the most central political matters - like the basic structure of society, and the concepts of freedom and democracy. (shrink)

The environment of small tourism islands, as climate and coastal resources, make them favourable locations for luxury resorts. However, tourism can cause a threat to these islands’ local environment. Thus, the Maldives government has developed regulations to ensure a balance between resource protection and use. This study examines, from the conceptual framework of sustainable tourism, whether luxury indicates sustainability in the Maldives, that is, if there is a link between luxury and sustainability. To perform this analysis we have studied 91 (...) deluxe and non-deluxe resorts in the Maldives using content analysis methodology. Then we have applied a Principal Components Analysis to determine whether the resorts can be grouped according to their tourist attractions and sustainable activities. Results show that we can not affirm that luxury implies sustainability, but we might conclude that both are possible. (shrink)

The significant influence of Ludwig Wittgenstein in social science is partly due to the central role played by the practical dimension, which is inherent in his philosophy. Nowadays, the latter is drawing strong interest in the academic community, in sociology, in management science as well as in business ethics, a field in which experts strive to establish an ethics opposed to any normativity, directly geared to managerial practices. However, the very same scholars who investigated this “practical turn” and who do (...) not fail to refer to Wittgenstein as a major philosophical source are hardly prolific about his work as a philosopher. Can the main Wittgensteinian concepts serve as a reliable theoretical basis on which to ground business ethics as a practice? To answer this question, we first analyse the relation between facts and values, between rule and practice. We then explore the converging elements existing in Wittgenstein’s philosophy as a quest for self-knowledge, before expounding the principles of what might constitute an approach to business ethics as practice. Lastly, we underscore the limitations of such an interpretation as well as to the need to go deeper into these tentative conclusions, both from an empirical and theoretical point of view. (shrink)

Despite the importance of brands in mediating corporate social responsibility, there has been relatively little research on how responsible brands are developed from the internal perspective of the company. Some research has been conducted from the external perspective, such as the link between ethical issues and consumer purchase behaviour, but there has been relatively little focus on brand-building itself. The present study addresses this gap in the literature by proposing a model for building responsible brands. After identifying the common features (...) that emerge from the extant brandbuilding models, the study applies these to the building of responsible brands. The result is a proposed conceptual model for building responsible brands. (shrink)

This study aims to investigate the current patterns and determinants of sustainability disclosure in the global forest industry. Under the extensive quantifiable measures and occurrences of the Global Reporting Initiative framework, a content analysis is performed on the voluntary disclosure of 66 largest forest companies worldwide to evaluate their economic, environmental and social performance. By taking industry and firm characteristics into account, the study also seeks to shed more light on the key determinants influencing the quality and level of disclosure. (...) Significant emphasis was found to be placed on environmental and economic issues in contrast to areas such as human rights, labour practices, social and product responsibilities in the forest industry. The results of regression analysis suggest that company size and business diversity are significantly associated with disclosure, whereas profitability and regional differences are not decisive factors in formulating sustainability reporting strategies in the forest industry. (shrink)

Stakeholder expectations of corporate responsibility are growing and thus understanding the dynamics of expectations is becoming important for companies. Stakeholder expectations that are met open doors for stakeholder favor, whereas unmet expectations may hinder or even prevent collaboration. While all companies are expected to be responsible enough to keep away from causing harm to others, a competitive edge can only be achieved if the minimum expectations are exceeded. The paper suggests that companies can both exceed and manage stakeholder expectations in (...) practice by building up a corporate citizenship profile that gives direction to their specialization in responsibility. This niche can be labeled for example environmental, cultural or technological corporate citizenship. The value of such labeling is that it can make the corporate responsibility of an individual company easier to communicate. This is important, as creating competitive edge with responsibility sets high standards for communication, since stakeholders view messages concerning responsibility with a great deal of criticism, or even cynicism. As good deeds of today tend to turn into expectations of tomorrow, meeting stakeholder expectations can become crucial for company success. Thus, expectations need to be both understood and managed. (shrink)

Although the very idea of business ethics is no longer assumed to be an oxymoron, there remains a substantial tension between the field of ethics and that of business. The different paradigms tend to lead to one-sided arguments that prevent the emergence of a satisfactory solution. The paper proposes that such tension can be transcended to bring forth a more encompassing perspective. Psychologists Carl G. Jung and Abraham H. Maslow have both discussed the concept of transcendence, which implies a capacity (...) of the subject not to be constrained by existing or common boundaries; rather the subject goes beyond opposites to redefine the context and terms of the dialogue. The paper thus examines the meaning of transcendence and its possible implications for business ethics research and praxis. Such reflection needs to be led at both social and individual level, for individual researchers, managers and leaders need to reassess the tension in themselves if they are to successfully transcend the tension in their field. (shrink)