The death of a company: an ethical assessment

The process that leads to the closing down of a company requires a deliberative action and a strong sense of governance from managers. Research on the process of organisational death is scarce, and it is often thought that managers may wish to postpone the death and eventual demise of their company. We argue that such behaviour is a dismissal of managers' responsibilities. Drawing on the case of 'Glue', we discuss whether the decision to close down a company can be ethically justified. We adopted a procedural, context-bound and existential framework and the results unveil some of the specific traits of what is involved in the decision to let a company die. Explaining managers' behaviour in terms of authentic existence enables us to understand how managers cope with the death of a company. Furthermore, we suggest that sometimes closing down is the most responsible option that conciliates the interest of different constituents.