Sustainability and Social Responsibility

Perfect or Imperfect Duties? Consumer Perspectives Toward Corporate Sustainability

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Abstract

Ha-Brookshire (2015) recently proposed the moral responsibility theory of corporate sustainability (MRCS) based on the corporate personhood concept recognized by U.S. law (Dubbink, 2014). That is, as a person, a corporation has moral responsibilities toward society and the environment, and can therefore intentionally decide its commitment level toward sustainability goals. Furthermore, MRCS shows that, as a legal person, all corporations bear perfect (i.e., universal and absolute) and imperfect (i.e., discretionary and meritorious) duties as Kant (1797/ 1991) suggested. In this light, the theory argues that the extent of corporations' commitment toward social and environmental responsibilities depends on how they perceive sustainability within the moral spectrum. While this argument is clear in the literature, consumers' perceptions toward corporate moral responsibility for sustainability are largely unknown. Therefore, this study was designed to assess consumers' perceptions on corporate sustainability within the spectrum of morality, with the hope of developing the list of perfect and imperfect duties of corporate sustainability as perceived by consumers.

How to Cite:

Jung, S. & Ha-Brookshire, J. E., (2016) “Perfect or Imperfect Duties? Consumer Perspectives Toward Corporate Sustainability”, International Textile and Apparel Association Annual Conference Proceedings 73(1).