What’s a Company For?
Is the job of a company director simply to make as much money as possible as quickly as possible for shareholders? Do businesses have obligations to employees, other stakeholders, and society as a whole? And, most pressingly of all, do they have any responsibility for the environment, for social ine...
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| Format: | Online |
| Idioma: | anglès |
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LSE Press
2026
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| Accés en línia: | ONIX_20260621T103021_9781911712725_6 |
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| _version_ | 1869530655079006208 |
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| author | Pepper, Alexander |
| author_browse | Pepper, Alexander |
| author_facet | Pepper, Alexander |
| author_sort | Pepper, Alexander |
| collection | Directory of Open Access Books |
| description | Is the job of a company director simply to make as much money as possible as quickly as possible for shareholders? Do businesses have obligations to employees, other stakeholders, and society as a whole? And, most pressingly of all, do they have any responsibility for the environment, for social inequality, and to sustain fair competition in a world dominated by mega-corporations? In this book, Professor Alexander (‘Sandy’) Pepper considers the controversial subject of corporate purpose. Drawing on ideas from philosophy, economics, law, and management studies, he critically examines competing answers to the question ‘What’s a Company For?’. To help answer this, Pepper imagines the conversations that might take place if 20th-century economist Milton Friedman, who famously argued for the primacy of shareholders’ interests, engaged in dialogue with Socrates. The Athenian philosopher proves a playful and provocative interlocutor for questions of how a company operates ethically when faced with 21st-century questions of responsibility towards people, society, and the planet. Ultimately, through academic argument and creative philosophical dialogues, Pepper makes the case for responsible business. Building on Alasdair MacIntyre’s virtue ethics, he argues that a company’s purpose encompasses not just profit, but prosperity for all those who contribute to its work, particularly employees. It also has moral obligations to society in general. This book is a concise, witty, and engaging exploration of these knotty debates, and an essential read for students, researchers and even company directors looking to understand the bigger picture. |
| format | Online |
| id | doab-20.500.12854ir-177920 |
| institution | Directory of Open Access Books |
| language | eng |
| publishDate | 2026 |
| publishDateRange | 2026 |
| publishDateSort | 2026 |
| publisher | LSE Press |
| publisherStr | LSE Press |
| record_format | ojs |
| spelling | doab-20.500.12854ir-1779202026-06-22T05:37:35Z What’s a Company For? Pepper, Alexander Alasdair MacIntyre Business ethics Corporate purpose Shareholder primacy Stakeholder theory thema EDItEUR::K Economics, Finance, Business and Management::KJ Business and Management::KJG Business ethics and social responsibility thema EDItEUR::K Economics, Finance, Business and Management::KJ Business and Management::KJM Management and management techniques thema EDItEUR::Q Philosophy and Religion::QD Philosophy::QDT Topics in philosophy::QDTQ Ethics and moral philosophy Is the job of a company director simply to make as much money as possible as quickly as possible for shareholders? Do businesses have obligations to employees, other stakeholders, and society as a whole? And, most pressingly of all, do they have any responsibility for the environment, for social inequality, and to sustain fair competition in a world dominated by mega-corporations? In this book, Professor Alexander (‘Sandy’) Pepper considers the controversial subject of corporate purpose. Drawing on ideas from philosophy, economics, law, and management studies, he critically examines competing answers to the question ‘What’s a Company For?’. To help answer this, Pepper imagines the conversations that might take place if 20th-century economist Milton Friedman, who famously argued for the primacy of shareholders’ interests, engaged in dialogue with Socrates. The Athenian philosopher proves a playful and provocative interlocutor for questions of how a company operates ethically when faced with 21st-century questions of responsibility towards people, society, and the planet. Ultimately, through academic argument and creative philosophical dialogues, Pepper makes the case for responsible business. Building on Alasdair MacIntyre’s virtue ethics, he argues that a company’s purpose encompasses not just profit, but prosperity for all those who contribute to its work, particularly employees. It also has moral obligations to society in general. This book is a concise, witty, and engaging exploration of these knotty debates, and an essential read for students, researchers and even company directors looking to understand the bigger picture. 2026-06-22T05:37:33Z 2026-06-22T05:37:33Z 2026-06-21T16:05:03Z 2026 book book ONIX_20260621T103021_9781911712725_6 https://doi.org/10.31389/lsepress.wcf https://library.oapen.org/handle/20.500.12657/114385 9781911712725 9781911712718 9781911712732 9781911712749 https://directory.doabooks.org/handle/20.500.12854/177920 eng open access image/jpeg Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International https://library.oapen.org/bitstream/20.500.12657/114385/1/9781911712725.pdf LSE Press LSE Press 10.31389/lsepress.wcf 10.31389/lsepress.wcf 74dc3a2f-c8d1-428d-b77c-3bec749428da 9781911712725 9781911712718 9781911712732 9781911712749 LSE Press 181 London, UK open access |
| spellingShingle | Alasdair MacIntyre Business ethics Corporate purpose Shareholder primacy Stakeholder theory thema EDItEUR::K Economics, Finance, Business and Management::KJ Business and Management::KJG Business ethics and social responsibility thema EDItEUR::K Economics, Finance, Business and Management::KJ Business and Management::KJM Management and management techniques thema EDItEUR::Q Philosophy and Religion::QD Philosophy::QDT Topics in philosophy::QDTQ Ethics and moral philosophy Pepper, Alexander What’s a Company For? |
| title | What’s a Company For? |
| title_full | What’s a Company For? |
| title_fullStr | What’s a Company For? |
| title_full_unstemmed | What’s a Company For? |
| title_short | What’s a Company For? |
| title_sort | what s a company for |
| topic | Alasdair MacIntyre Business ethics Corporate purpose Shareholder primacy Stakeholder theory thema EDItEUR::K Economics, Finance, Business and Management::KJ Business and Management::KJG Business ethics and social responsibility thema EDItEUR::K Economics, Finance, Business and Management::KJ Business and Management::KJM Management and management techniques thema EDItEUR::Q Philosophy and Religion::QD Philosophy::QDT Topics in philosophy::QDTQ Ethics and moral philosophy |
| topic_facet | Alasdair MacIntyre Business ethics Corporate purpose Shareholder primacy Stakeholder theory thema EDItEUR::K Economics, Finance, Business and Management::KJ Business and Management::KJG Business ethics and social responsibility thema EDItEUR::K Economics, Finance, Business and Management::KJ Business and Management::KJM Management and management techniques thema EDItEUR::Q Philosophy and Religion::QD Philosophy::QDT Topics in philosophy::QDTQ Ethics and moral philosophy |
| url | ONIX_20260621T103021_9781911712725_6 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT pepperalexander whatsacompanyfor |