The Hope and Limits of Legal Optimism: A Comment on the Theories of Orts and Nesteruk Regarding the Impact of Law on Corporate Ethics

David Hoch and J. Brooke Hamilton

Business Ethics Quarterly, 1999, vol. 9, issue 4, 677-688

Abstract: Joining the dialogue on the relationship between the law and business ethics, Jeffrey Nesteruk and Eric W. Orts have offered conceptions of the law as a positive influence rather than a negative curb on corporate behavior. While these “legal optimists” pursue a noble end in promoting higher ethical standards for corporations through the law, they may be overly optimistic in their suggestion that these more skillfully wielded legal models will influence corporate behavior for the better. Reviewing the basic tenets of their two approaches, this paper uses corporate responses to environmental statutes to suggest that while legal optimism may offer hope for promoting corporate ethics, it has definite limitations in its current stage of development.

Date: 1999
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