Cooperate, Comply, or Evade? A Corporate Executive's Social Responsibilities with Regard to Law

This article seeks to advance discussions of the topic of corporate social responsibility by critically examining the relationship between a businessperson's social and legal duties. In particular, the article distinguishes situations in which a corporate executive has a social duty to cooperat...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:American business law journal 2004-06, Vol.41 (4), p.559-594
Main Author: Ostas, Daniel T.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Business ethics
Civil disobedience
Commercial law
Compliance
Cooperation
Corporate responsibility
Law
Public policy
Regulation
Regulatory reform
Sanctions
Social responsibility
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Summary:This article seeks to advance discussions of the topic of corporate social responsibility by critically examining the relationship between a businessperson's social and legal duties. In particular, the article distinguishes situations in which a corporate executive has a social duty to cooperate with the spirit of business laws from situations where mere compliance with the letter of those laws is sufficient. The article also inquires whether willful evasions of law can ever be justified. To this end, it examines both the notion of an "efficient breach" of regulatory law and the proper role of civil disobedience in business settings. It begins with a review of the early corporate social responsibility literature. It then illustrates the usefulness of this framework with reference to an extended hypothetical case.
ISSN:0002-7766
1744-1714
DOI:10.1111/j.1744-1714.2004.04104004.x