Dispersed Responsibility

Another aspect of the economic activities of transnationals concerns how they operate in contexts characterized by dispersed responsibility. One such context is the outsourcing of economic activity. Companies hire other companies or individuals not directly under their control to do certain tasks. This final chapter explores under which circumstances companies can deny moral responsibility for wrongdoings of suppliers or sub-contractors, and whether outsourcing might be morally problematic even in cases where suppliers or sub-contractors do not commit any wrongs. Another context characterized by dispersed responsibility is where corporations must make choices related to operating under authoritarian regimes. This chapter applies the “moral force of exploitation”—reasoning to explain when corporations may, or should not, cooperate.