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Corporate Agency and Possible Futures

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  • Tim Mulgan

    (University of St Andrews
    University of Auckland)

Abstract

We need an account of corporate agency that is temporally robust—one that will help future people to cope with challenges posed by corporate groups in a range of credible futures. In particular, we need to bequeath moral resources that enable future people to avoid futures dominated by corporate groups that have no regard for human beings. This paper asks how future philosophers living in broken or digital futures might re-imagine contemporary debates about corporate agency. It argues that the only temporally robust account is moralised extreme collectivism, where full moral personhood is accorded (only) to those corporate groups that are reliably disposed to respond appropriately to moral reasons.

Suggested Citation

  • Tim Mulgan, 2019. "Corporate Agency and Possible Futures," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 154(4), pages 901-916, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:jbuset:v:154:y:2019:i:4:d:10.1007_s10551-018-3887-1
    DOI: 10.1007/s10551-018-3887-1
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. John Hasnas, 2013. "Whither Stakeholder Theory? A Guide for the Perplexed Revisited," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 112(1), pages 47-57, January.
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    3. Corvellec, Hervé & Bevan, David, 2005. "The Impossibility of Corporate Ethics – For a Levinasian Approach to Managerial Ethics," GRI-rapport 2005:9, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg Research Institute GRI.
    4. Mulgan, Tim, 2015. "Utilitarianism for a Broken World," Utilitas, Cambridge University Press, vol. 27(1), pages 92-114, March.
    5. Velasquez, Manuel, 2003. "Debunking Corporate Moral Responsibility," Business Ethics Quarterly, Cambridge University Press, vol. 13(4), pages 531-562, October.
    6. Andreas Georg Scherer & Guido Palazzo, 2011. "The New Political Role of Business in a Globalized World: A Review of a New Perspective on CSR and its Implications for the Firm, Governance, and Democracy," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 48(4), pages 899-931, June.
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    Cited by:

    1. Atabek Atabekov, 2023. "Artificial Intelligence in Contemporary Societies: Legal Status and Definition, Implementation in Public Sector across Various Countries," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 12(3), pages 1-21, March.

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