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Inclusive and Exclusive Social Preferences: A Deweyan Framework to Explain Governance Heterogeneity

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  • Silvia Sacchetti

Abstract

This paper wishes to problematize the foundations of production governance and offer an analytical perspective on the interrelation between agents’ preferences, strategic choice, and the public sphere (defined by impacts of choices on ‘publics’ who do not have an input in strategic choice, and by contextual conditions). The value is in the idea of preferences being social in nature and in the application both to the internal stakeholders of the organisation and its impacts on people outside. Using the concept of ‘strategic failure’ we suggest that social preferences reflected in deliberative social praxis can reduce false beliefs and increase individual wellbeing. From this approach, the paper offers a taxonomy of production organisations, based on social preferences about two variables: (i) the governance form (i.e. ownership and control rights) (ii) other strategic decisions that characterize the management of a company at a more operational level, once its fundamental legal form has been chosen. Each dimension (governance and strategic decisions processes) is then categorised alongside two basic preferences: towards inclusion or exclusion of ‘publics’ that have no substantial access to decision power about these variables. Our framework explains governance heterogeneity by contrasting exclusive and inclusive social preferences in cooperatives, social enterprises, as well as traditional corporations. A discussion of the evolution of social preferences and organizational forms is addressed through examples and regional experiences. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2015

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  • Silvia Sacchetti, 2015. "Inclusive and Exclusive Social Preferences: A Deweyan Framework to Explain Governance Heterogeneity," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 126(3), pages 473-485, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:jbuset:v:126:y:2015:i:3:p:473-485
    DOI: 10.1007/s10551-013-1971-0
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    5. Sacchetti, Silvia & Tortia, Ermanno, 2012. "The internal and external governance of cooperatives: the effective membership and consistency of value," AICCON Working Papers 111-2012, Associazione Italiana per la Cultura della Cooperazione e del Non Profit.
    6. Andrea Salustri, 2022. "A Multidimensional Analysis of the Municipalities of the Italian Small Islands," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(16), pages 1-17, August.
    7. Magali Fia & Lorenzo Sacconi, 2019. "Justice and Corporate Governance: New Insights from Rawlsian Social Contract and Sen’s Capabilities Approach," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 160(4), pages 937-960, December.
    8. Dirk C. Moosmayer & Sandra Waddock & Long Wang & Matthias P. Hühn & Claus Dierksmeier & Christopher Gohl, 2019. "Leaving the Road to Abilene: A Pragmatic Approach to Addressing the Normative Paradox of Responsible Management Education," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 157(4), pages 913-932, July.
    9. Tortia, Ermanno C., 2017. "The firm as a common. The case of the accumulation and use of capital resources in co-operative enterprises," MPRA Paper 76735, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    10. Silvia Sacchetti & Carlo Borzaga, 2021. "The foundations of the “public organisation”: governance failure and the problem of external effects," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 25(3), pages 731-758, September.
    11. Ermanno C. Tortia & Florence Degavre & Simone Poledrini, 2020. "Why are social enterprises good candidates for social innovation? Looking for personal and institutional drivers of innovation," Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 91(3), pages 459-477, September.
    12. Ermanno C. Tortia, 2018. "The Firm as a Common. Non-Divided Ownership, Patrimonial Stability and Longevity of Co-Operative Enterprises," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(4), pages 1-18, March.
    13. Simone Poledrini & Florence Degavre & Ermanno Tortia, 2018. "Editorial: Background and Further Perspectives on Social Innovation in Social Enterprises," Journal of Entrepreneurial and Organizational Diversity, European Research Institute on Cooperative and Social Enterprises, vol. 7(1), pages 1-13.
    14. Marina Albanese, 2020. "Social and Relational Variables in Worker Cooperatives: Implications for the Objective Function," Journal of Entrepreneurial and Organizational Diversity, European Research Institute on Cooperative and Social Enterprises, vol. 9(1), pages 26-44.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Public interest; Enquiry and deliberation; Inclusion; John Dewey; Social preferences; Governance; Corporate social responsibility; Cooperative firms; Social enterprises;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • B00 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - General - - - History of Economic Thought, Methodology, and Heterodox Approaches
    • L2 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior
    • L3 - Industrial Organization - - Nonprofit Organizations and Public Enterprise

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