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Upping the Stakes: A Response to John Hasnas on the Normative Viability of the Stockholder and Stakeholder Theories

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  • Palmer, Daniel E.

Abstract

This essay responds to Hasnas’s recent article “The Normative Theories of Business Ethics: A Guide for the Perplexed†in Business Ethics Quarterly. Hasnas claims that the stockholder theory is more plausible than commonly supposed and that the stakeholder theory is prone to significant difficulties. I argue that Hasnas’s reasons for favoring the stockholder over the stakeholder theory are not as strong as he suggests. Following Hasnas, I examine both theories in light of two sets of normative considerations: utilitarian and deontological. First, I show that utilitarian considerations clearly favor the stakeholder theory. I then argue that though Hasnas rightly accents the basic deontological constraint at the core of the stockholder theory, he is wrong to think that acknowledging such a constraint necessarily counts against the stakeholder theory. Here, I develop Ross’s notion of prima facie obligations to show how a viable stakeholder theory might be developed within a deontological framework.

Suggested Citation

  • Palmer, Daniel E., 1999. "Upping the Stakes: A Response to John Hasnas on the Normative Viability of the Stockholder and Stakeholder Theories," Business Ethics Quarterly, Cambridge University Press, vol. 9(4), pages 699-706, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:cup:buetqu:v:9:y:1999:i:04:p:699-706_00
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    Cited by:

    1. J. Kaler, 2006. "Evaluating Stakeholder Theory," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 69(3), pages 249-268, December.
    2. Subrata Chakrabarty & A. Erin Bass, 2015. "Comparing Virtue, Consequentialist, and Deontological Ethics-Based Corporate Social Responsibility: Mitigating Microfinance Risk in Institutional Voids," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 126(3), pages 487-512, February.
    3. Mary Stoll, 2008. "Backlash Hits Business Ethics: Finding Effective Strategies for Communicating the Importance of Corporate Social Responsibility," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 78(1), pages 17-24, March.

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