Description

Samuel Mansell critiques the principles of stakeholder theory, proposing instead a qualified version of Friedman's shareholder theory. In whose interests should a corporation be run? Proponents of 'stakeholder theory' propose a distinctive answer: it should be run in the interests of its primary stakeholders. Samuel Mansell offers a detailed critique of this claim, arguing that stakeholder theory undermines the principles on which a market economy is based. In whose interests should a corporation be run? Proponents of 'stakeholder theory' propose a distinctive answer: it should be run in the interests of its primary stakeholders. Samuel Mansell offers a detailed critique of this claim, arguing that stakeholder theory undermines the principles on which a market economy is based. In whose interests should a corporation be run? Over the last thirty years the field of 'stakeholder theory' has proposed a distinctive answer: a corporation should be run in the interests of all its primary stakeholders - including employees, customers, suppliers and financiers - without contradicting the ethical principles on which capitalism stands. This book offers a critique of this central claim. It argues that by applying the political concept of a 'social contract' to the corporation, stakeholder theory in fact undermines the principles on which a market economy is based. The argument builds upon an extensive review of the stakeholder literature and an analysis of its philosophical foundations, particularly concerning the social contract tradition of John Rawls and his predecessors. The book concludes by offering a qualified version of Milton Friedman's shareholder theory as a more justifiable account of the purpose of a corporation. Foreword; 1. Introduction; 2. An introduction to stakeholder theory; 3. The philosophy of stakeholder theory; 4. The corporation as a private association in a market economy; 5. The corporation as a sovereign power in a market economy; 6. Shareholder theory and its limitations; 7. Conclusion; References; Index. 'Sam Mansell has produced a fine critical analysis of stakeholder theory. He is both a skeptical and a sympathetic critic, a difficult road to follow, yet the results are a fine example of how to give the best possible interpretation of a position, before one begins to criticize it … Mansell's critique has the potential to make stakeholder theory better and stronger.' R. Edward Freeman, University of Virginia, from the Foreword 'Mansell offers a thorough but highly readable, a close but wide ranging, and a sympathetic but ultimately critical account of stakeholder theory which renews key debates about the corporation and its objectives.' Jeremy Moon, International Centre for Corporate Social Responsibility, Nottingham University Business School 'Samuel Mansell tackles a central aspect of the currently fashionable discourse of social responsibility in relation to theories of social contract and justice by interrogating the principles of social justice and fairness that lie underneath the rhetoric of free markets. His careful analysis is required reading for those who want to go beyond the PR sloganizing and tick-box compliance into a re-evaluation of market principles in the democratic society.' David Weir, Head, School of Business, Leadership and Enterprise, University Campus Suffolk 'Samuel Mansell develops a sustained critique of stakeholder conceptions of the corporation, demonstrating their fundamental incoherence.