The corporation and its role in society – it’s a subject as old as capitalism. While the plot line has taken many twists and turns through the centuries, there are archetypal themes that dominate. Senior Researcher Michael Blowfield explores this subject in the first of a series of working papers from the Business Leadership in Society Initiative of The Center for Corporate Citizenship at Boston College.

In the paper titled Does Society Want Business Leadership? Blowfield pulls together an analysis that examines the thinking of writers as dissimilar as Adam Smith, Karl Marx, John Kenneth Galbraith, Peter Drucker, Milton Friedman and Alvin Toffler. He then puts into a contemporary context the “if, why, and how” of the leadership role business has taken in society since the late 19th century.

Charles Handy’s pivotal question “Business for what and for whom?” was chosen to open the paper because of its relevance to the current paradox facing business today: that while public expectations of companies rise, the level of trust declines. As Blowfield writes: “In 2005, the U.S. business sector has alternately been condemned for reneging on pension-fund obligations and praised for its role in disaster relief. The public seems torn between hope and despondency, and is uncertain what role business should play.”

The paper provides a way for business executives to begin thinking about Handy’s question within the context of some of the most significant thinking on the subject. It also examines several dimensions of the role of business in society – from the changing expectations and obligations, the leadership responsibilities of the corporation and its top executives, and influencing factors such as trends, values and religion. 

Blowfield concludes with the recognition that not all elements of society want business to take a greater leadership role and cautions that “we can only find proper answers if we listen to what people are saying and avoid jumping to conclusions about motive or intention.” The paper provides the reader with an informative overview of such motives and intentions, as well as their historic relationship to the public role of business. It also offers an extensive reference list of books and journal articles.

The working paper is part of The Business Leadership in Society Project, a Ford Foundation-funded study that involves one-on-one interviews with 50 senior executives – 25 of whom are CEOs – inside some of the world’s largest companies. The executives are sharing their opinions about the leadership role of business in a global society and are addressing questions such as:

• What does the C-Suite think about how senior executives should or could lead in society?
• What do they think about how business should or could lead in society?
• To what extent should commitments to social and environment issues be aligned with and integrated into a businesses’ strategy?
• What should society expect from business?
• Should companies be responsible for enhancing the quality of life?
• Should companies be accountable to a fuller range of stakeholders?

Companies participating in the research project include: Accenture, AMD, Apache, Aramark, Baxter, Becton Dickinson, Booz Allen Hamilton, Citigroup, Ernst & Young, General Electric, Georgia Pacific, IBM, Johnson Controls, Keyspan, Levi Strauss, Lloyds TSB, Manpower, Nestlé, Raytheon, Starbucks, State Street, Turner Construction, Unocal, Verizon, and Wells Fargo.

The executive interviews will continue in early 2006. Further details and analysis will be released by The Center beginning in the spring.

» Download the paper, Does Society Want Business Leadership? (login required).
» Learn more about the Business Leadership in Society Project.