Integrative Social Contracts Theory

1995 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 85-112 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Donaldson ◽  
Thomas W. Dunfee
Keyword(s):  
Business Ethics ◽  
Normative Theory ◽  
Economic Life ◽  
Moral Issues ◽  
Hostile Takeovers ◽  
Integrative Social Contracts Theory ◽  
Fine Grained ◽  
Social Contracts ◽  
Social Contracts Theory ◽  
The Impact

Difficult moral issues in economic life, such as evaluating the impact of hostile takeovers and plant relocations or determining the obligations of business to the environment, constitute the raison d'etre of business ethics. Yet, while the ultimate resolution of such issues clearly requires detailed, normative analysis, a shortcoming of business ethics is that to date it has failed to develop an adequate normative theory.1 The failing is especially acute when it results in an inability to provide a basis for fine-grained analyses of issues. Both general moral theories and stakeholder theory seem incapable of expressing the moral complexity necessary to provide practical normative guidance for many business ethics contexts.

scholarly journals The Enduring Potential of Justified Hypernorms

2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (03) ◽  
pp. 317-342
Author(s):  
Markus Scholz ◽  
Gastón de los Reyes ◽  
N. Craig Smith
Keyword(s):  
Business Ethics ◽  
Stakeholder Engagement ◽  
Integrative Social Contracts Theory ◽  
Social Contracts ◽  
Profound Influence ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Prior Literature ◽  
Social Contracts Theory ◽  
Outer Bounds ◽  
Integrative Social

ABSTRACT:The profound influence of Thomas Donaldson and Thomas Dunfee’s integrative social contracts theory (ISCT) on the field of business ethics has been challenged by Andreas Scherer and Guido Palazzo’s Habermasian approach, which has achieved prominence of late with articles that expressly question the defensibility of ISCT’s hypernorms. This article builds on recent efforts by Donaldson and Scherer to bridge their accounts by providing discursive foundations to the hypernorms at the heart of the ISCT framework. Extending prior literature, we propose an ISCT* framework designed to retain ISCT’s practical virtue of managerial guidance while answering the demands of Scherer and Palazzo’s discursive account. By subscribing to a suitable portfolio of discursively justified hypernorms, we argue, companies unlock the valuable moral guidance of ISCT*, which says to treat these hypernorms as unequivocal outer bounds to the pursuit of business and as a starting point to tailor local norms through discursive stakeholder engagement.

Principles of Managerial Moral Responsibility

2009 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 529-552 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edward Soule ◽  
Marcus Hedahl ◽  
John Dienhart
Keyword(s):  
Business Ethics ◽  
Moral Responsibility ◽  
Prima Facie ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Integrative Social Contracts Theory ◽  
Moral Principles ◽  
Social Contracts ◽  
Ethics Research ◽  
Social Contracts Theory ◽  
Integrative Social

ABSTRACT:The purpose of this paper is to formulate and defend a set of moral principles applicable to management. Our motivation is twofold: 1) to increase the coherence and utility of Integrative Social Contracts Theory (ISCT); and 2) to initiate an alternative stream of business ethics research. To those ends, we specify what counts as adequate guidance in navigating the ethical terrain of business. In doing so, a key element of ISCT, Substantive Hypernorms, is found to be flawed beyond repair. So we propose and defend a remedy: prima facie moral principles. After delineating the appropriate criteria and format for such principles, we formulate, explain, and defend five of them. We conclude with a brief comment on future research possibilities.

Decision-Making Processes on Ethical Issues: The Impact of a Social Contract Perspective

1995 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 213-240 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diana C. Robertson ◽  
William T. Ross
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Social Contract ◽  
Ethical Issues ◽  
Community Members ◽  
Integrative Social Contracts Theory ◽  
Situational Variables ◽  
Social Contracts ◽  
Decision Making Processes ◽  
Social Contracts Theory ◽  
The Impact

Abstract:This paper develops a framework for examining decision making about ethical issues and tests the applicability of a social contract perspective. Using two separate samples of students and salespeople, we determine that community members (salespeople) tend to judge a potentially unethical act to constitute a violation of an implicit social contract and non-community members (students) do not. Also, consistent with the emphasis on context specificity of integrative social contracts theory, situational variables influence perceptions of ethicality for the community members, but do not affect the perceptions of individuals outside the community. The study finds considerable support for the use of a social contractarian perspective in the study of decision-making processes about ethical issues.

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