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Corporate citizenship as stakeholder management: An ordonomic approach to business ethics

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  • Pies, Ingo
  • Hielscher, Stefan
  • Beckmann, Markus

Abstract

This paper argues that the perspective of ordonomic—a rational-choice based analysis of (interdependencies between) social structure and semantics—can provide new insights into the changing role of business in society. We claim (a) that the proper role of business is societal value creation, (b) that business firms—as economic players— can take on the role of improving the rules of the game, i.e., act as corporate citizens, and (c) that business ethics can and should provide theoretical guidance for “corporate citizenship” and the political processes of “new governance,” in which business firms, together with civil society organizations and state actors, work together to solve problems, especially at an international (and sometimes even global) scale. Finally, we show (d) that this perspective requires overcoming two blind spots in recent discourse about the appropriate analytical foundations of business ethics.

Suggested Citation

  • Pies, Ingo & Hielscher, Stefan & Beckmann, Markus, 2008. "Corporate citizenship as stakeholder management: An ordonomic approach to business ethics," Discussion Papers 2008-4, Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg, Chair of Economic Ethics.
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:mlucee:20084
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    business ethics; corporate citizenship; corporate social responsibility; new governance; ordonomics; rational choice; social dilemmas; stakeholder theory;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • A12 - General Economics and Teaching - - General Economics - - - Relation of Economics to Other Disciplines
    • A13 - General Economics and Teaching - - General Economics - - - Relation of Economics to Social Values
    • D02 - Microeconomics - - General - - - Institutions: Design, Formation, Operations, and Impact
    • D63 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Equity, Justice, Inequality, and Other Normative Criteria and Measurement
    • M14 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Business Administration - - - Corporate Culture; Diversity; Social Responsibility

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