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korean management review - Vol. 51 , No. 5

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korean management review - Vol. 51, No. 5, pp. 1297-1322
Abbreviation: kmr
ISSN: 1226-1874 (Print)
Print publication date 31 Oct 2022
Received 03 Aug 2022 Revised 29 Aug 2022 Accepted 30 Aug 2022
DOI: https://doi.org/10.17287/kmr.2022.51.5.1297
Justifications of Stakeholder Capitalism Theory of the Corporation: Concepts, History, Legal Backgrounds, and Issues
Su-Yol Lee
(First Author) Chonnam National University (leesuyol@jnu.ac.kr)
이해관계자 자본주의 기업이론 고찰: 개념, 역사, 법률적 배경과 핵심 쟁점

Copyright 2011 THE KOREAN ACADEMIC SOCIETY OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0, which permits unrestricted, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Abstract

Discourses on stakeholder capitalism have been invigorated in recent years. However, stakeholder capitalism is still new to academia and practices. A theory of the corporation has explored stakeholder capitalism in superficial and fragmented ways. Several concepts that seem similar but with subtle differences, such as the stakeholder model, stakeholder theory, and stakeholder approach, are used by various scholars in very different ways; however, this diversity and its implications are rarely discussed. This study aims to theoretically investigate stakeholder capitalism based on the theory of the corporation. It points out some of the more critical distinctions, issues, and implications associated with the stakeholder capitalism theory of the corporation in the contexts of historical, legal, and institutional backgrounds. This study clarifies and justifies the theory's essential content and significance by providing comparisons with those of the shareholder capitalism theory. This study provides a discourse basis for stakeholder capitalism by providing its descriptive, instrumental, and normative justifications. This study pays homage to the justifications presented by Donaldson and Preston in 1995. Their justifications for the stakeholder theory are still relevant to addressing stakeholder capitalism today. This study contributes to the literature by providing a comprehensive understanding of the stakeholder capitalism of the corporation.


Keywords: Stakeholder capitalism, Theory of the corporation, Justifications, ESG, CSR, Shareholder capitalism

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∙ The author Su-Yol Lee is a professor of the College of Business Administration, Chonnam National University. He received his Ph.D. and MSc. from KAIST. His research interests include ESG, CSR, corporate sustainability, and the intersection of climate change and businesses.