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Call for Papers for a Special Issue of Business & Society

The Business Firm as a Political Actor:
A New Theory of the Firm for a Globalized World
Andreas Georg Scherer
University of Zurich, Switzerland
Guido Palazzo
University of Lausanne, Switzerland
Dirk Matten
York University, Canada

The debate on the relationship between business and politics mainly
builds on the assumption of a reasonably coherent regulatory environment,
where nation state institutions address issues of public concern and
regulate business behavior. In this model, state agencies are considered the
only political institutions that directly focus on the well-being of society,
whereas business firms are conceived of as economic actors only. Business
firms—in this thinking—might well attempt to influence the political system
by their lobbying or political strategies or might engage in corporate
philanthropy as part of their strategies. These activities though do not
change them into political actors that operate in the name of the public
interest. Rather, it is assumed that their
interaction with the political sphere
fosters their economic ends.

Over the last decade, however, this neat separation between the political
and the economic sphere has become blurred. In the process of globalization,
the national context of governance is eroding. In many cases, the state
system fails in regulating the economy, dealing with transnational social
and environmental problems, providing public goods, administering citizenship
rights, and serving the public interest. This is particularly true when
the public institutions lack the necessary resources or enforcement mechanisms.
Under these conditions, civil society groups and private actors often
step in and fill the void.

Today, many multinational business firms have started to voluntarily
regulate their activities or produce global public goods. As the widespread
participation in the UN Global Compact shows, these firms assume political
responsibilities that once were regarded as belonging to government. They
contribute to public health, education, social security, and the protection of
human rights or engage in self-regulation to fill gaps in legal regulation and
to promote societal peace and stability. These business firms operate as
social entrepreneurs and directly serve the public interest by their resources
(money, assets, know-how, etc.) and their creativity.

Next to globalization, distinct changes in political ideology during the
past decades have led to massive changes in most industrialized countries.
Substantial reforms of the postwar Keynesian welfare state—often commonly
referred to as “neoliberal” reforms—have led to massive privatization
of formerly government provided services (e.g., health care, basic
shelter, education, telecommunication, public transport, water and electricity
utilities, etc.). These developments have put corporations in charge of
the provision of goods whose nature in terms of quality, accessibility, and
affordability have an intricately political character.

These activities go beyond the common understanding of instrumental
corporate social responsibility and the economic concept of the business
firm. Globalizing society erodes established ideas about the division of
labor between the political and economic spheres. It calls for a fresh view
concerning the political role of business in society and its creativity and
contribution to social innovations and the public good. These phenomena
need to be embedded in a new concept of the business firm as an economic
and political actor in market societies.

As outlined above, although there is a broad consensus on business
occasionally “doing” political activities, there
is as yet little appreciation of
business actually “being” a political actor in itself, next to governments and
increasingly also civil society actors. The political nature of the firm is
highly contested—not only because it challenges existing notions of the
role of business in society but also because of substantial concerns about
the implications of this shift for democracy and the public good.

The task of this Business & Society special issue
is to discuss the consequences
of a political mandate of the business firm and to examine the
implications for the theory of the firm. We specifically invite papers which
take a critical perspective on the political role of the firm. Authors should
aim to develop strong theoretical and/or empirical insights that increase our
understanding of the political behavior of global business firms and their
contribution to society. We would like to see the contributions advance the
discussion in two main directions that address the philosophical, theoretical,
and practical domains of Business & Society:

1. Theoretical concepts of a political theory of the business firm.
Papers here might address questions such as the following:
• Do companies have a political responsibility, and, if so, how can it
be defined?
• What does “political behavior” mean in a globalizing world?
• How can we find a balance between corporate power and the
public interest?
• How can the link between organizational creativity and social
innovation be conceptualized and explored?
• How can the activities of companies be democratically controlled?
• What are the problems caused by corporate political strategies and
political lobbying?
• What are the consequences of a political conception of corporate
social responsibility for corporate governance and the economic
theory of the firm?

2. Implications for management theory building
Possible topics might include (but are not restricted to) the following:
• What role do organizational creativity and resources play for
social innovations?
• What are the consequences of the political role for organizational
legitimacy?
• What can be learned from the emerging forms of cooperation
between business firms, NGOs, and civil society groups (e.g.,
with respect to private–public-partnerships)?
• How can responsible leadership contribute to social innovations?
• Which organizational structures or incentive systems support
social innovations?
• How do business firms try to deal with their enlarged political role
(best practices)?

We invite both theoretical and empirical contributions that help us to
better understand the political responsibility of business firms. Papers that
argue across the potentially relevant disciplines (organization and management
studies, business ethics and CSR, economics, legal studies, political
theory, etc.) would be particularly welcome. The submitted papers are subject
to the regular double-blind review process at Business & Society.

Submission Instructions
The format of the papers must follow Business & Society guidelines.
Business & Society uses the American Psychological Association citation and
reference system (please see any recent copy of the journal for a sample).
Papers should include a 100-150 word abstract followed by 3 to 5 keywords.
The paper itself should contain no indications of authorship.
A title page containing full author contact information should be sent as
a separate document to the coeditors.

Deadlines/Timetable
The tentative timetable for the special issue is as follows:
March 1, 2010 Papers submitted electronically to coeditors
March, 2010–Spring 2011 Review and revision process
During 2012 (tentative) Publication of Business & Society Special Issue
Contact Address
Prof. Dr. Andreas Georg Scherer
IOU/University of Zurich
Universitätsstrasse 84
CH-8006 Zurich, Switzerland
E-mail: andreas.scherer@iou.uzh.ch

Duane Windsor, Ph.D., BAS Editor
The Lynette S. Autrey Professor of Management
The Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Business
Rice University

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