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For or Against Corporate Identity? Personification and the Problem of Moral Agency

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Abstract

This article explores the concept of corporate identity from a moral perspective. In it we argue that the reification and personification involved in attributing an identity to an organization has moral repercussions. Through a discussion of ‘intentionality’ we suggest that it is philosophically problematic to treat an abstraction of the corporation as possessing identity or acting as a conscious moral agent. The article moves to consider practical and ethical issues in the areas of organizational commitment, of health and safety, and corporate social responsibility, and finds that the notion of identity can be abused, although it will no doubt continue to be used as it does have some practical utility. In conclusion, we argue that despite being meaningless from a philosophical stance, the concept of corporate identity need not be discarded, however, it is far from benign and intense moral scrutiny is necessary wherever it is applied.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the guest editors and anonymous reviewers for their comments on earlier drafts of this paper.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Strategy and Innovation, University of Central Lancashire, Preston, PR1 2HE, U.K.

    Ian Ashman

  2. Kingston Business School, Kingston University, Kingston, Surrey, KT2 7LB, U.K.

    Diana Winstanley

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  1. Ian Ashman
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  2. Diana Winstanley
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Correspondence to Ian Ashman.

Additional information

Ian Ashman PhD is a senior lecturer in the HRM division of the Lancashire business School, University of Central Lancashire. He has recently authored a number of papers on business ethics, leadership and research methods, all of which draw upon his interest in philosophies of existential phenomenology. He is an executive member of European Business Ethics Network U.K. Professor Diana Winstanley PhD, FCIPD was Director of Postgraduate Programmes at Kingston Business School, Kingston University. She wrote over 50 articles and five books, including her latest, ‚Personal Effectiveness: A Guide to Action’ (2005, CIPD) and Ethical Issues in Contemporary Human Resource Development (2000, Macmillan). She was a trained humanistic counsellor and an executive member of European Business Ethics Network U.K. Her research interests were in the areas of workplace learning, development, diversity and business ethics. Sadly, Diana Winstanley, died last summer.

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Ashman, I., Winstanley, D. For or Against Corporate Identity? Personification and the Problem of Moral Agency. J Bus Ethics 76, 83–95 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-006-9270-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-006-9270-7

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