RSE et théorie des parties prenantes : les impasses du contrat

• Main Author: Didier Cazal
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Association Recherche & Régulation 2011-06-01
• Series: Revue de la Régulation
• Subjects: contractarianism; Corporate social responsibility; Freeman; stakeholder theory
• Online Access: http://journals.openedition.org/regulation/9173

The paper examines stakeholder theory and what it means for CSR research and practices. First, some theoretical and conceptual weaknesses are pinpointed. Then I underline how stakeholder theory is rooted in contractarianism: the firm is viewed as a nexus of contracts between stakeholders, in the line of transactions costs theory, its philosophical foundations are inspired from social theories of social contract and justice as fairness, as they were especially developed by Rawls. I show the conceptual problems inherited from such contractarian views and finally examine the likely sociopolitical consequences of these views. Grounding CSR in stakeholder theory may well result in some extended free-market liberalism and in voluntarism regarding CSR matters and eventually in limited ethical version of an unbridled capitalism.