Understanding Deviance from Standards

In this chapter, Andrea Fried discusses the implications of a better understanding of deviance from standards for corporate responsibility in terms of both compliance-related duties for companies and their criminal liability. Five questions related to this are answered in this summarizing chapter: Is voluntary self-regulation of companies a way of ensuring corporate responsibility? What contributes to a manipulation of standards even if a strong external control and sanctioning system is in place? Should legislative authorities only sanction actual knowledge of and engagement in wrongful acts of standard deviation? Should legislation stipulate a criminal liability also for companies? Why should companies allow organizational members to deviate from standards? Answers to these questions relate to the empirical investigations presented in previous chapters of the book and show strong support for a corporate criminal law that should apply when standard deviations lead to health, environmental, or safety risks.