RT Article
T1 For or Against Corporate Identity? Personification and the Problem of Moral Agency
JF Journal of business ethics
VO 76
IS 1
SP 83
OP 95
A1 Ashman, Ian
A1 Winstanley, Diana
A2 Winstanley, Diana
LA English
YR 2007
UL https://ixtheo.de/Record/1785628615
AB This article explores the concept of corporate identity from a moral perspective. In it we argue that the reification and personification involved in attributing an identity to an organization has moral repercussions. Through a discussion of ‘intentionality’ we suggest that it is philosophically problematic to treat an abstraction of the corporation as possessing identity or acting as a conscious moral agent. The article moves to consider practical and ethical issues in the areas of organizational commitment, of health and safety, and corporate social responsibility, and finds that the notion of identity can be abused, although it will no doubt continue to be used as it does have some practical utility. In conclusion, we argue that despite being meaningless from a philosophical stance, the concept of corporate identity need not be discarded, however, it is far from benign and intense moral scrutiny is necessary wherever it is applied.
K1 Social Responsibility
K1 Reification
K1 Moral Agency
K1 Intentionality
K1 Corporate Identity
DO 10.1007/s10551-006-9270-7