Maximizing the firm's value to society through ethical business decisions: Incorporating ‘moral debt’ claims

Marco G.D. Guidi, Joe Hillier and Heather Tarbert

CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, 2008, vol. 19, issue 5, 603-619

Abstract: We argue that all three forms of justice (economic, legal, distributive) require to be incorporated into the firm's business decisions in order to protect stakeholders’ alienable and inalienable rights. In addition, the firm has ‘moral debt’ obligations which require to be distributed fairly amongst all stakeholders. We develop a model that demonstrates that just distribution of stakeholders’ ‘moral debt’ and residual claims leads to the maximization of the firm's value to society in the long-run.

Keywords: ‘Moral debt’; Ethical business decisions; Distributive justice; Maximizing the firm value to society; Alienable and inalienable rights; Pareto optimal; Market and legal systems; Nexus of contracts; Stakeholders and shareholders (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2008
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:crpeac:v:19:y:2008:i:5:p:603-619

DOI: 10.1016/j.cpa.2007.01.003

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