Case | HBS Case Collection | January 2019

Capitalism, Entrepreneurship and Responsibility

by Geoffrey Jones

Abstract

This case contains excerpts from prominent business leaders and others expressing their views on the responsibilities, if any, of business leaders to other stakeholders in society. It begins with an excerpt from Andrew Carnegie, the nineteenth century steel magnate, in which he argues that although making wealth through business was valid and desirable, the business leader should see himself as a trustee who should distribute this wealth to society. It then tracks debates concerning business responsibility over the decades. It includes excerpts from Theodore Levitt’s warning of the “Dangers of Social Responsibility” (1958) and Jensen and Meckling’s (1976) “Theory of the Firm,” which argued that a firm was merely a nexus of relationships among individuals and could have no responsibility. The case ends with excerpts from Warren Buffet, Dominic Barton, Judy Wicks and Larry Fink, each offering a different perspective on the responsibility of business leaders.

Keywords: Capitalism; Entrepreneurship; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Leadership; Attitudes; Perspective;

Language: English Format: Print 15 pages EducatorsPurchase

Citation:

Jones, Geoffrey. "Capitalism, Entrepreneurship and Responsibility." Harvard Business School Case 319-081, January 2019.

About the Author

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Geoffrey G. Jones
Isidor Straus Professor of Business History
General Management

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