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If Fairness is the Problem, Is Consent the Solution? Integrating ISCT and Stakeholder Theory

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 January 2015

Harry J. Van Buren III
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Abstract:

Work on stakeholder theory has proceeded on a variety of fronts; as Donaldson and Preston (1995) have noted, such work can be parsed into descriptive, instrumental, and normative research streams. In a normative vein, Phillips (1997) has made an argument for a principle of fairness as a means of identifying and adjudicating among stakeholders. In this essay, I propose that a reconstructed principle of fairness can be combined with the idea of consent as outlined in integrative social contract theory (ISCT) to bring about a more normative stakeholder theory that also has ramifications for corporate governance.

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Articles
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Business Ethics Quarterly , Volume 11 , Issue 3 , July 2001 , pp. 481 - 499
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Copyright © Society for Business Ethics 2001

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