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Loyalty, Corporations, and Community

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 January 2015

George D. Randels Jr
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Abstract:

Some recent discussions of corporate loyalty have found it misguided, while others see it as crucial for financial success. There is also disagreement over the nature of loyalty. This article analyzes the concept of loyalty, arguing that it is neither a duty nor a virtue (although it has overlaps with those categories), but a passion related to various virtues (and vices). Contrary to standard accounts of capitalism, loyalty does not necessarily oppose self-interest. Furthermore, corporations can and should be communities, and insofar as they are, they are proper objects for loyalty. If corporations are not communities, then loyalty to them cannot exist.

Type
Loyalty
Information
Business Ethics Quarterly , Volume 11 , Issue 1 , January 2001 , pp. 27 - 39
Copyright
Copyright © Society for Business Ethics 2001

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