Inherited Traditions of Responsibility in Business

Since the 1970s, there has been vigorous debate about the social responsibility of business around the world. In the wake of Milton Friedman’s controversial essay “The Social Responsibility of Business Is to Increase its Profits,” scholars, activists, and even business leaders themselves have attempted to redefine the purpose of a corporation (e.g. Business Round Table, the Giving Pledge, Davos Manifesto). Yet, historical work, an intellectual history of sorts, on how ideas about business responsibility are actually formed, transformed, adopted, and sustained over time is sorely missing. This panel brings together scholars of responsibility in business working across geographies, yet united by a focus on the long-twentieth century, to explore intellectual origins and subsequent trajectories of business ethics across the US, Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East. In particular, the papers focus on how inherited personal and family traditions play a decisive role in shaping perspectives on philanthropy, giving, and responsibility in business. In particular, we suggest that in societies with complex colonial histories, strong religious institutions, and social problems that cannot be met by the state alone, a ‘history of business ideas’ approach can be productively leveraged to understand management phenomenon beyond what is portrayed by standard corporate histories.