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  • 2014
  • Chapter
  • Corporations and Citizenship

Can For-Profit Corporations Be Good Citizens? Perspectives from Four Business Leaders

By: Nien-he Hsieh
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Abstract

This chapter serves an epilogue, turning to ask practitioners how they would answer the question, "Can for-profit corporations be good citizens?" In reflecting on their answers, the chapter puts forward an account that grounds the purpose and responsibilities of for-profit corporations in their role in enabling productive activity that allows members of society to meet their needs and wants. This account is contrasted with prevailing accounts in scholarly literature (e.g., shareholder primacy and stakeholder theory) that frame corporate purpose and responsibility in terms of whose interests the corporation is meant to serve. One area of comparison concerns a central activity of citizenship, which is participation in the political and legislative processes.

Citation

Hsieh, Nien-he. "Can For-Profit Corporations Be Good Citizens? Perspectives from Four Business Leaders." Chap. 16 in Corporations and Citizenship, edited by Greg Urban. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2014.
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About The Author

Nien-he Hsieh

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More from the Author
  • LCA Module Overview: Society By: Nien-he Hsieh
  • LCA Module Overview: Employees By: Nien-hê Hsieh
  • Ethical Analysis: Honesty and Self-Interest By: Nien-hê Hsieh and Christopher Diak
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