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Dignity at the Level of the Firm: Beyond the Stakeholder Approach

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Dignity and the Organization

Part of the book series: Humanism in Business Series ((HUBUS))

Abstract

After the financial crisis that took place in 2008, many scholars proposed a new position for the firm inside society; one in which the generation of value for all stakeholders and the environmental responsibility were basic points (Porter and Kramer 2011). However, the dominant economic anthropology (the neoclassical theory of the firm) still proposes that the objective of the firm is short-term profit maximization (Jensen 2002). On the other hand, other academics have used the stakeholder approach to direct the objectives of the firm not only to maximize shareholders’ interest, but also the interests of all economic actors that interact inside or with the firm. The main objective of this chapter is to present a model that could facilitate firms to deal with the issue of morality directed to the preservation and development of human dignity. In short, the paper’s intention is to go beyond the stakeholder approach and propose the ISCT as a valid approach to integrate the discussion about human dignity at the level of the firm in an attempt to reconnect firms’ objectives with the interest of society.

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Correspondence to Ricardo Aguado .

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Aguado, R., Retolaza, J.L., Alcañiz, L. (2017). Dignity at the Level of the Firm: Beyond the Stakeholder Approach. In: Kostera, M., Pirson, M. (eds) Dignity and the Organization. Humanism in Business Series. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-55562-5_5

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