Abstract
Stakeholder theory is an important part of modern business ethics. Many scholars argue for a normative instead of an instrumental approach to stakeholder theory. Recent examples of such an approach show that problems appear with respect to the ethical foundation as well as the specification of the norms and the relation between corporate and individual responsibilities. This paper argues for the relevance of Aristotle's ideas on ethics and politics, and especially the link between them, for stakeholder theory. An Aristotelian approach suggests that the corporation should be considered as existing to allow the decision maker, who normally is a manager, to live a complete and good life and to make decisions that involve the interests of different stakeholders. This approach leads to a number of implications regarding the role of organizational politics and the managerial function.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bacharach, S. B. and E. J. Lawler: 1980, Power and Politics in Organizations (Jossey Bass, San Fransisco).
Blau, J. R.: 1996, ‘Organizations as Overlapping Jurisdictions: Restoring Reason in Organizational Accounts’, Administrative Science Quarterly 41 (March), 172–179.
Carroll, A. B.: 1979, ‘A Three-dimensional Model of Corporate Social Performance’, Academy of Management Review 4(4), 497–505.
Child, J.: 1997, ‘Strategic Choice in the Analysis of Action, Structure, Organizations and Environment: Retrospect and Prospect’, Organization Studies 18(1), 43–76.
Clarkson, M. B. E.: 1995, ‘A Stakeholder Framework for Analyzing and Evaluating Corporate Social Performance’, Academy of Management Review 20(1), 92–117.
Dahl, R. A.: 1989, Democracy and its Critics (Yale University Press, New Haven & London).
Donaldson, T. and T. W. Dunfee: 1994, ‘Towards a Unified Conception of Business Ethics: Integrative Social Contracts Theory’, Academy of Management Review 19(3), 252–284.
Donaldson, T. and L. E. Preston: 1995, ‘The Stakeholder Theory of the Corporation: Concepts, Evidence, and Implications’, Academy of Management Review 20(1), 65–91.
Drory, A. and T. Romm: 1988, ‘Politics in Organization and its Perception within the Organization’, Organization Studies 9(2), 165–179.
Drory, A. and T. Romm: 1990, ‘The Definition of Organizational Politics: A Review’, Human Relations 43(11), 1133–1154.
Evan, W. M. and R. E. Freeman: 1988, ‘A Stakeholder Theory for the Modern Corporation: Kantian Capitalism’, in T. Beauchamp and N. Bowie (eds.), Ethical Theory and Business (Prentice Hall, Englewood's Cliffs), pp. 75–93.
Freeman, R. E.: 1984, Strategic Management: A Stakeholder Approach (Pitman/Ballinger, Boston).
Freeman, R. E.: 1994, ‘The Politics of Stakeholder Theory: Some Future Directions’, Business Ethics 4(4), 409–421.
French, P. A.: 1984, Collective and Corporate Responsibility (Columbia University Press, New York).
Goodpaster, K.: 1991, ‘Business Ethics and Stakeholder Analysis’, Business Ethics Quarterly 1(1), 53–73.
Hardie, W. F. R.: 1977, ‘Aristotle's Doctrine that Virtue is a Mean’, in J. Barnes, M. Schofield and R Sorabji (eds.), Articles on Aristotle: 2. Ethics and Politics (Duckworth, London).
Hardy, C. and S. R. Clegg: 1996, ‘Some Dare Call It Power’, in S. R. Clegg, C. Hardy and W. R. Nord (eds.), Handbook of Organization Studies (Thousands Oaks, London, Sage Publications, New Delhi), pp. 622–641.
Hill, C. W. L. and T. M. Jones: 1992, ‘Stakeholder-Agency Theory’, Journal of Management Studies 29(2), 131–154.
Langtry, B.: 1994, ‘Stakeholders and the Moral Responsibilities of Business’, Business Ethics Quarterly 4(4), 431–443.
Leflaive, X: 1996, ‘Organizations as Structures of Domination’, Organization Studies 17(1), 23–47.
Meikle, S.: 1994, Aristotle's Economic Thought(Clarendon Press, Oxford).
Michels, R.: 1962, Political Parties: A Sociological Study of the Oligargical Tendencies of Modern Parties (Collier Books, New York).
Mitchell, R. K., B. R. Agle and D. J. Wood: 1997, ‘Towards a Theory of Stakeholder Identification and Salience: Defining the Principle of Who and What Really Counts’, Academy of Management Review 22(4), 853–886.
Nussbaum, M.: 1990, Love's Knowledge: Essays on Philosophy and Literature (Oxford University Press, New York & Oxford).
Nussbaum, M.: 1993, ‘Non-Relative Virtues: An Aristotelian Approach’, in M. Nussbaum and A. Sen (eds.), The Quality of Life (Clarendon Press, Oxford).
Pagano, U. and R. Rowthorn (eds.): 1996, Democracy and Efficiency in the Economic Enterprise (Routledge, London).
Parker, M.: 1997, ‘Organizations and Citizenship’, Organization 4(1), 75–92.
Pettigrew, A. M.: 1973, The Politics of Decision Making (Tavistock, London).
Pfeffer, J.: 1981, Power in Organizations (Pitman, Marsfield).
Pfeffer, J.: 1992, ‘Understanding Power in Organizations’, California Management Review (Winter), 29–50.
Pfeffer, J. and G. R. Salancik: 1978, The External Control of Organizations: A Resource Dependence Perspective (Harper & Row, New York).
Pichault, F.: 1995, ‘The Management of Politics in Technically Related Organizational Change’, Organization Studies 16(3), 449–476.
Quin, D. P. and T. M. Jones: 1995, ‘An Agent Morality View of Business Policy’, Academy of Management Review 20(1), 22–42.
Romilly, J, de: 1992, The Great Sophists in Periclean Athens (Clarendon Press, Oxford).
Solomon, R. C.: 1993, Ethics and Excellence: Co-operation and Integrity in Business (Oxford University Press, New York & Oxford).
Strauss, L.: 1968, Liberalism, Ancient and Modern (Basic Books, New York & London).
Strauss, A.: 1978, Negociations: Varieties, Contexts, Processes and Social Order (Wiley, New York).
Stokes, M. C.: 1986, Platos Socratic Conversations: Drama and Dialectic in Three Dialogues (The Athlone Press, London).
Wartick, S. L. and P. L. Cochran: 1985, ‘The Evolution of the Corporate Social Performance Model’, Academy of Management Review 10(4), 758–769.
Wood, D. J.: 1991, ‘Corporate Social Performance Revisited’, Academy of Management Review 16(4), 691–718.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Wijnberg, N.M. Normative Stakeholder Theory and Aristotle: The Link Between Ethics and Politics. Journal of Business Ethics 25, 329–342 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1006086226794
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1006086226794