Reclaiming the Relational Ontology of the Fiduciary and Exploring Relational Ethics

Helen Mussell

Working Papers from Centre for Business Research, University of Cambridge

Abstract: Despite the omnipresence of the fiduciary in organisations, there is an omission of contemporary theorisations of this legal concept within the organisational theory literature. This is particularly surprising given the situation that the presence of ethics within the fiduciary is increasingly contested ground, with clear implications for managerial practice. This article addresses the lacuna by theorising the fiduciary using an original ontological analysis, alongside identifying a suitable ethical framework. It argues on two grounds that the ontology of the fiduciary is inherently relational. The fiduciary’s process-oriented focus is shown to indicate an open, emergent, and relational ontology at work. Secondly, historical investigation of the development of the fiduciary highlights its core relationship structure, and the interdependency and power dynamic embedded in the fiduciary are revealed. The argument is advanced that by bringing this inherent relational ontology to the fore, we can see how a relational ethical framework – the Ethics of Care – is best placed to explicate the ethics at work. The article concludes with a discussion outlining how the ontological theorisation offers utility in steering future practice of the fiduciary.

Keywords: Fiduciary duty; Contract Law; Modern Portfolio Theory; Ethics of (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: B11 B26 B54 G11 G30 G32 K12 K13 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021-12
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-hme, nep-hpe and nep-law
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:cbr:cbrwps:wp534

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