Stakeholder ethics: Defining the ethical responsibilities of stakeholders to and for companies1

Abstract

Because business ethics focuses on the ethical responsibilities of companies to and for their stakeholders, the impression that companies have only duties and that stakeholders have only rights can arise. To prevent stakeholders from becoming passive as a result, this article explores the ethical responsibilities of stakeholders to and for the companies of which they are stakeholders. Using corporate social contract theory, which holds that all contracting parties have ethical responsibilities, five principles are identified as the ethical responsibilities of stakeholders to their companies: empathy, fairness, solidarity, reliability, and openness. Corporate social contract theory also allows the identification of five grounds comprising the extent to which stakeholders are responsible for their companies: endorsement, enablement, influence, profit, and ownership. The more these grounds are present, the more stakeholders have coresponsibility for the company of which they are stakeholders. Therefore, this article opens the door more widely to study and practice stakeholder ethics.