#StopHateForProfit and the Ethics of Boycotting by Corporations

Theodore M. Lechterman (), Ryan Jenkins () and Bradley J. Strawser ()
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Theodore M. Lechterman: IE University
Ryan Jenkins: California Polytechnic State University
Bradley J. Strawser: Naval Postgraduate School

Journal of Business Ethics, 2024, vol. 191, issue 1, No 4, 77-91

Abstract: Abstract In July 2020, more than 1000 companies that advertise on social media platforms withdrew their business, citing failures of the platforms (especially Facebook) to address the proliferation of harmful content. The #StopHateForProfit movement invites reflection on an understudied topic: the ethics of boycotting by corporations. Under what conditions is corporate boycotting permissible, required, supererogatory, or forbidden? Although value-driven consumerism has generated significant recent discussion in applied ethics, that discussion has focused almost exclusively on the consumption choices of individuals. As this article underscores, value-driven consumerism by business corporations complicates these issues and invites further examination. We propose principles for the ethics of boycotting by corporations, indicate how these principles relate to different CSR paradigms, and show how these insights can help assess recent instances of corporate boycotting.

Keywords: Boycotts; CSR; Ethical consumerism; Corporate activism; Social media; Democratic legitimacy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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DOI: 10.1007/s10551-023-05415-y

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