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Citizenship, Inc. Do We Really Want Businesses to Be Good Corporate Citizens?

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  • Néron, Pierre-Yves
  • Norman, Wayne

Abstract

Are there any advantages to thinking and speaking about ethical business in the language of citizenship? We will address this question in part by looking at the possible relevance of a vast literature on individual citizenship that has been produced by political philosophers over the last fifteen years. Some of the central elements of citizenship do not seem to apply straightforwardly to corporations. E.g., “citizenship” typically implies membership in a state and an identity akin to national identity; but this connotation of citizenship is obviously problematic for multinational corporations. However, the language of citizenship does help to focus our attention on various legal and political virtues (or vices) for corporations—topics that have been largely neglected by discussions under other rubrics, such as CSR or sustainability. We finish with an evaluation of the potential benefits and costs of conceptualizing and talking about ethical business practices in the language of citizenship.

Suggested Citation

  • Néron, Pierre-Yves & Norman, Wayne, 2008. "Citizenship, Inc. Do We Really Want Businesses to Be Good Corporate Citizens?," Business Ethics Quarterly, Cambridge University Press, vol. 18(1), pages 1-26, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:cup:buetqu:v:18:y:2008:i:01:p:1-26_00
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    Cited by:

    1. Miguel Alzola, 2023. "Conceptions of the Firm and Corporate Allegiances," Humanistic Management Journal, Springer, vol. 8(2), pages 201-216, August.
    2. Luc Liedekerke & Geert Demuijnck, 2011. "Business Ethics as a Field of Training, Teaching and Research in Europe," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 104(1), pages 29-41, April.
    3. Aurélien Feix & Georg Wernicke, 2024. "When Is CEO Activism Conducive to the Democratic Process?," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 190(4), pages 755-774, April.
    4. José Luis Retolaza & Leire San-Jose, 2011. "Social economy and stakeholder theory, an integrative framework for socialization of the capitalism," CIRIEC-España, revista de economía pública, social y cooperativa, CIRIEC-España, issue 73, pages 193-211, October.
    5. Pies, Ingo & Beckmann, Markus & Hielscher, Stefan, 2012. "The political role of the business firm: An ordonomic concept of corporate citizenship developed in comparison with the Aristoleian idea of individual citizenship," Discussion Papers 2012-1, Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg, Chair of Economic Ethics.
    6. Francesco Scarpa & Silvana Signori, 2023. "Understanding corporate tax responsibility: a systematic literature review," Sustainability Accounting, Management and Policy Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 14(7), pages 179-201, June.
    7. Jose-Luis Retolaza & Leire San-Jose & Maite Ruiz-Roqueñi, 2014. "Ontological Stakeholder View: An Innovative Proposition," Global Business Review, International Management Institute, vol. 15(1), pages 25-36, March.
    8. Rajwani, Tazeeb & Liedong, Tahiru Azaaviele, 2015. "Political activity and firm performance within nonmarket research: A review and international comparative assessment," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 50(2), pages 273-283.
    9. Wendelin M. Küpers, 2011. "Integral responsibilities for a responsive and sustainable practice in organization and management," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 18(3), pages 137-150, May.
    10. Tahiru Azaaviele Liedong, 2021. "Responsible Firm Behaviour in Political Markets: Judging the Ethicality of Corporate Political Activity in Weak Institutional Environments," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 172(2), pages 325-345, August.
    11. Caterina Lorenzo-Molo & Zenon Udani, 2013. "Bringing Back the Essence of the “S” and “R” to CSR: Understanding the Limitations of the Merchant Trade and the White Man’s Burden," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 117(1), pages 123-136, September.
    12. Gianluca Colombo & Valérie-Inès de La Ville, 2008. "Gouvernance et responsabilité sociale des entreprises," Post-Print hal-02069212, HAL.
    13. David Silver, 2015. "Business Ethics After Citizens United: A Contractualist Analysis," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 127(2), pages 385-397, March.
    14. Pierre-Yves Néron, 2016. "Rethinking the Ethics of Corporate Political Activities in a Post-Citizens United Era: Political Equality, Corporate Citizenship, and Market Failures," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 136(4), pages 715-728, July.
    15. Woon Leong Lin & Jo Ann Ho & Murali Sambasivan, 2018. "Impact of Corporate Political Activity on the Relationship Between Corporate Social Responsibility and Financial Performance: A Dynamic Panel Data Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(1), pages 1-22, December.
    16. Wayne Norman, 2011. "Business Ethics as Self-Regulation: Why Principles that Ground Regulations Should Be Used to Ground Beyond-Compliance Norms as Well," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 102(1), pages 43-57, March.
    17. Bjørn‐Tore Blindheim* & Oluf Langhelle, 2010. "A reinterpretation of the principles of CSR: a pragmatic approach," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 17(2), pages 107-117, March.

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