IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/zbw/mlucee/20121.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

The political role of the business firm: An ordonomic concept of corporate citizenship developed in comparison with the Aristoleian idea of individual citizenship

Author

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

Abstract

This is an essay in conceptual clarification: by way of comparison with the Aristotelian idea of individual citizenship for the antique polis, this article develops an ordonomic concept of “corporate citizenship” that offers two insights for academic scholarship. First, we clarify what is meant by a company's political role. Companies take such a role if they do not confine themselves to acting as bourgeois within the basic business game of producing goods and services, but also participate as citoyen in the meta games of political rule-setting processes and rule-finding discourses. Second, we show that the political dimension of corporate citizenship need not weaken or compromise a company's role as an economic actor. Rather, in light of deficient institutional rules, companies need to take a political role if they wish to pursue their self-perfection as economic agents for value creation. This means that in processes of new governance the economic and political roles of the firm need not contradict each other but can follow the same win-win logic of individual self-perfection through cooperative social interactions.

Suggested Citation

  • 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.
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:mlucee:20121
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.econstor.eu/bitstream/10419/170359/1/dp2012-01.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. George Bragues, 2006. "Seek the Good Life, not Money: The Aristotelian Approach to Business Ethics," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 67(4), pages 341-357, September.
    2. Ingo Pies & Markus Beckmann & Stefan Hielscher, 2010. "Value Creation, Management Competencies, and Global Corporate Citizenship: An Ordonomic Approach to Business Ethics in the Age of Globalization," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 94(2), pages 265-278, June.
    3. Bhagwati, Jagdish N, 1982. "Directly Unproductive, Profit-seeking (DUP) Activities," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 90(5), pages 988-1002, October.
    4. Anant K. Sundaram & Andrew C. Inkpen, 2004. "The Corporate Objective Revisited," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 15(3), pages 350-363, June.
    5. Williamson, Oliver E., 2010. "Transaction Cost Economics: The Natural Progression," Journal of Retailing, Elsevier, vol. 86(3), pages 215-226.
    6. Martin Petrick & Ingo Pies, 2007. "In search for rules that secure gains from cooperation: the heuristic value of social dilemmas for normative institutional economics," European Journal of Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 23(3), pages 251-271, June.
    7. Douglass C. North, 2005. "Introduction to Understanding the Process of Economic Change," Introductory Chapters, in: Understanding the Process of Economic Change, Princeton University Press.
    8. Scherer, Andreas Georg & Palazzo, Guido & Baumann, Dorothée, 2006. "Global Rules and Private Actors: Toward a New Role of the Transnational Corporation in Global Governance," Business Ethics Quarterly, Cambridge University Press, vol. 16(4), pages 505-532, October.
    9. Kobrin, Stephen J., 2009. "Private Political Authority and Public Responsibility: Transnational Politics, Transnational Firms, and Human Rights," Business Ethics Quarterly, Cambridge University Press, vol. 19(3), pages 349-374, July.
    10. Jean Tirole, 1999. "Incomplete Contracts: Where Do We Stand?," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 67(4), pages 741-782, July.
    11. Ghatak, Maitreesh & Guinnane, Timothy W., 1999. "The economics of lending with joint liability: theory and practice," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 60(1), pages 195-228, October.
    12. repec:dau:papers:123456789/12331 is not listed on IDEAS
    13. Gabriel Flynn, 2008. "The Virtuous Manager: A Vision for Leadership in Business," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 78(3), pages 359-372, March.
    14. Baumol, William J., 1996. "Entrepreneurship: Productive, unproductive, and destructive," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 11(1), pages 3-22, January.
    15. Guido Palazzo & Andreas Scherer, 2006. "Corporate Legitimacy as Deliberation: A Communicative Framework," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 66(1), pages 71-88, June.
    16. Anant K. Sundaram & Andrew C. Inkpen, 2004. "Stakeholder Theory and “The Corporate Objective Revisited”: A Reply," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 15(3), pages 370-371, June.
    17. Herbert A. Simon, 1991. "Organizations and Markets," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 5(2), pages 25-44, Spring.
    18. Boatright, John R., 1999. "Does Business Ethics Rest on a Mistake?," Business Ethics Quarterly, Cambridge University Press, vol. 9(4), pages 583-591, October.
    19. Edwin Hartman, 2008. "Socratic Questions and Aristotelian Answers: A Virtue-Based Approach to Business Ethics," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 78(3), pages 313-328, March.
    20. Becker, Gary S, 1993. "Nobel Lecture: The Economic Way of Looking at Behavior," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 101(3), pages 385-409, June.
    21. David Detomasi, 2007. "The Multinational Corporation and Global Governance: Modelling Global Public Policy Networks," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 71(3), pages 321-334, March.
    22. Brousseau,Eric & Glachant,Jean-Michel (ed.), 2002. "The Economics of Contracts," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521814904, January.
    23. William J. Baumol, 2013. "The Microtheory of Innovative Entrepreneurship," Journal of Economic Sociology, National Research University Higher School of Economics, vol. 14(3), pages 96-108.
    24. Beatriz Armendariz & Jonathan Morduch, 2007. "The Economics of Microfinance," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 1, volume 1, number 0262512017, December.
    25. Brousseau,Eric & Glachant,Jean-Michel (ed.), 2002. "The Economics of Contracts," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521893138, January.
    26. James Buchanan, 1990. "The domain of constitutional economics," Constitutional Political Economy, Springer, vol. 1(1), pages 1-18, December.
    27. Crane, Andrew & Matten, Dirk, 2008. "Incorporating the Corporation in Citizenship: A Response to Néron and Norman," Business Ethics Quarterly, Cambridge University Press, vol. 18(1), pages 27-33, January.
    28. 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.
    29. Pies, Ingo & Hielscher, Stefan & Beckmann, Markus, 2009. "Moral Commitments and the Societal Role of Business: An Ordonomic Approach to Corporate Citizenship," Business Ethics Quarterly, Cambridge University Press, vol. 19(3), pages 375-401, July.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Markus Beckmann & Stefan Hielscher & Ingo Pies, 2014. "Commitment Strategies for Sustainability: How Business Firms Can Transform Trade‐Offs Into Win–Win Outcomes," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 23(1), pages 18-37, January.
    2. Beckmann, Markus & Pies, Ingo & von Winning, Alexandra, 2012. "Passion and compassion as strategic drivers for sustainable value creation: An ordonomic perspective on social and ecological entrepreneurship," Discussion Papers 2012-22, Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg, Chair of Economic Ethics.
    3. Pies, Ingo & Beckmann, Markus & Hielscher, Stefan, 2009. "Competitive markets, corporate firms, and new governance - An ordonomic conceptualization," Discussion Papers 2009-13, Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg, Chair of Economic Ethics.
    4. Ingo Pies & Philipp Schreck & Karl Homann, 2021. "Single-objective versus multi-objective theories of the firm: using a constitutional perspective to resolve an old debate," Review of Managerial Science, Springer, vol. 15(3), pages 779-811, April.
    5. Pies, Ingo & Hielscher, Stefan, 2014. "Miteinander oder Gegeneinander? Zur Verhältnisbestimmung von Unternehmen und zivilgesellschaftlichen Organisationen," Discussion Papers 2014-3, Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg, Chair of Economic Ethics.
    6. 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.
    7. Will, Matthias Georg & Hielscher, Stefan, 2013. "How do companies invest in corporate social responsibility? An ordonomic contribution for empirical CSR research," Discussion Papers 2013-3, Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg, Chair of Economic Ethics.
    8. Pies, Ingo & Hielscher, Stefan & Everding, Sebastian, 2020. "Do hybrids impede sustainability? How semantic reorientations and governance reforms can produce and preserve sustainability in sharing business models," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 115(C), pages 174-185.
    9. Suchanek Andreas, 2012. "Unternehmensverantwortung als Vermeidung relevanter Inkonsistenzen / Corporate Responsibility: The Avoidance of Relevant Inconsistencies," ORDO. Jahrbuch für die Ordnung von Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft, De Gruyter, vol. 63(1), pages 241-260, January.
    10. Darcy W E Allen, 2020. "When Entrepreneurs Meet:The Collective Governance of New Ideas," World Scientific Books, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., number q0269, December.
    11. Will, Matthias Georg & Hielscher, Stefan, 2012. "How do companies invest in corporate social responsibility? An ordonomic contribution for empirical CSR research," Discussion Papers 2012-2, Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg, Chair of Economic Ethics.
    12. Beckmann, Markus, 2009. "The social case as a business case: Making sense of social entrepreneurship from an ordonomic perspective," Discussion Papers 2009-15, Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg, Chair of Economic Ethics.
    13. Pies, Ingo & Sass, Peter, 2011. "Wie sollte die Managementvergütung (nicht) reguliert werden? Ordnungspolitische Überlegungen zur Haftungsbeschränkung von und in Organisationen," Discussion Papers 2011-2, Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg, Chair of Economic Ethics.
    14. Pies, Ingo, 2022. "30 Jahre Unternehmensethik: Ein ordonomischer Rückblick, Überblick und Ausblick," Discussion Papers 2022-01, Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg, Chair of Economic Ethics.
    15. Hielscher, Stefan & Winkin, Jan & Pies, Ingo, 2016. "NGO credibility as private or public good? A governance perspective on how to improve NGO advocacy in public discourse," Discussion Papers 2016-03, Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg, Chair of Economic Ethics.
    16. Petrick, Martin, 2008. "Theoretical and methodological topics in the institutional economics of European agriculture. With applications to farm organisation and rural credit arrangements," Studies on the Agricultural and Food Sector in Transition Economies, Leibniz Institute of Agricultural Development in Transition Economies (IAMO), volume 45, number 92318, September.
    17. Judith Schrempf-Stirling, 2018. "State Power: Rethinking the Role of the State in Political Corporate Social Responsibility," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 150(1), pages 1-14, June.
    18. Sylvain Rossiaud, 2014. "Opening the upstream oil industry to private companies," Working Papers halshs-00960681, HAL.
    19. Sharon Novak & Scott Stern, 2009. "Complementarity Among Vertical Integration Decisions: Evidence from Automobile Product Development," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 55(2), pages 311-332, February.
    20. Lisa Herzog, 2017. "No Company is an Island. Sector-Related Responsibilities as Elements of Corporate Social Responsibility," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 146(1), pages 135-148, November.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:zbw:mlucee:20121. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/wwhalde.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.