ABSTRACT
In this chapter, we argue that the individual’s moral compass to make ethical decisions for their organization is often subordinated in group making situations. We explore how moral disengagement and bounded rationality theory can explain how these irrational decisions that impact, negatively, on stakeholders and stakeholder groups arise. We argue that through appeals to fundamental citizen and societal rights, especially those espoused by the United Nations Guiding Principles, and social media pressure, such poor decision-making can be countered and stakeholder relationships maintained. A conceptual framework is developed that we use to demonstrate how more robust, explicitly ethically grounded approaches to corporate accountability can lead to enhanced stakeholder engagement and, subsequently, CSR. We suggest that this “two-pronged approach” would be effective as they provide a necessary reinforcing ethical framework that enable collective challenges to prescriptive organizational directives, while further encouraging adherence by transparency and external scrutiny.
