Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/330915 
Year of Publication: 
2024
Citation: 
[Journal:] Journal of Business Ethics [ISSN:] 1573-0697 [Volume:] 201 [Issue:] 3 [Publisher:] Springer Netherlands [Place:] Dordrecht [Year:] 2024 [Pages:] 717-733
Publisher: 
Springer Netherlands, Dordrecht
Abstract: 
Stakeholder theory is traditionally motivated by the need to reconceptualize three core problems of business: value creation and trade, the ethics of capitalism, and managerial mindsets. We argue that the need for this reconceptualization arises, in part, from the limitations of mainstream economic theory in grasping the evolving business environment. The original institutional economics of John R. Commons offers an alternative body of economic thought that addresses these limitations by replacing the atomistic individualism of mainstream economics with an ontology grounded in collective action. Drawing on Commons' insights, we demonstrate how the problem of value creation and trade takes on a new meaning of promoting security of expectations through conflict resolution and the maintenance of order. We further reconstruct the problem of the ethics of capitalism by drawing on Commons' concept of reasonableness, rooted in evolving community standards of morality. Finally, we trace the problem of managerial mindsets to Commons' category of industrial goodwill, which suggests that managers can deliberately pursue policies that maximize stakeholders' collaborative attitudes. We conclude that reconstructing these three problems of business through Commons' categories reveals the deeper institutional economics content embedded within contemporary stakeholder theory.
Subjects: 
Original institutional economics
John R. Commons
Stakeholder theory
Three problems of business
Persistent Identifier of the first edition: 
Creative Commons License: 
cc-by Logo
Document Type: 
Article
Document Version: 
Published Version

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