Skip to main content

Corporation as Psychopath

  • Reference work entry

Synonyms

Antisocial behavior; Breach of moral standards and norms; Corporate irresponsibility; Corporate misconduct

Definition

Corporate psychopathic behavior describes a form of corporate conduct, which meets the psychiatric criteria for human psychopathy, that is, a failure to conform to social norms and the violation of accepted ethical standards without remorse. The parallel between corporate and human psychopathy exists due to moral projection, whereby corporate actions are seen as analogous to human actions because of the status of “legal person” or “corporate personhood” granted to corporate entities under corporate law.

Introduction

Recent history saw an intensifying debate about corporate conduct in light of widely publicized corporate scandals involving companies such as Enron, Monsanto, and WorldCom. Issues surrounding immoral, even psychopathic, corporate conduct arise out of the conflict between legal and socially expected standards of corporate conduct and the corporate...

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.

Buying options

Chapter
USD   29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD   1,600.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book
USD   1,599.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Learn about institutional subscriptions

References and Readings

  • Achbar, M., Abbott, J., & Bakan, J. (2004). The corporation (Film). London: Metrodome Distributions.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bakan, J. (2004). The corporation: The pathological pursuit of profit and power. London: Constable & Robinson.

    Google Scholar 

  • Boddy, C. R. P., Ladyshewsky, R., & Galvin, P. (2010). Leaders without ethics in global business: Corporate psychopaths. Journal of Public Affairs, 10(3), 121–138.

    Google Scholar 

  • Clark, J. (1976). Working with monsters: How to identify and protect yourself from the workplace psychopath. Milsons Point: Random House.

    Google Scholar 

  • Goodpaster, K. E., & Matthews, J. B. (1982). Can a corporation have a conscience? Harvard Business Review, 60(1), 132–141.

    Google Scholar 

  • Horwitz, M. J. (1992). The transformation of American law, 1870–1960: The crisis of legal orthodoxy. New York: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kraakman, R., Armour, J., Davies, P., Enriques, L., Hansmann, H. B., Hertig, G., et al. (2009). The anatomy of corporate law: A comparative and functional approach (2nd ed.). New York: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mark, G. (1987). Personification of the business corporation in American law. University of Chicago Law Review, 45, 1441–1470.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mitchell, L. E. (2001). Corporate irresponsibility: America’s newest export. New Baskerville: Yale University.

    Google Scholar 

  • Phillips, M. (1992). Corporate moral personhood and three conceptions of the corporation. Business Ethics Quarterly, 2, 435–459.

    Google Scholar 

  • Reich, R. (2008). Supercapitalism. The transformation of business, democracy and everyday life. Melbourne: Scribe.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Martin Brueckner .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2013 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

About this entry

Cite this entry

Brueckner, M. (2013). Corporation as Psychopath. In: Idowu, S.O., Capaldi, N., Zu, L., Gupta, A.D. (eds) Encyclopedia of Corporate Social Responsibility. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-28036-8_128

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-28036-8_128

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-28035-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-28036-8

  • eBook Packages: Business and Economics

Publish with us

Policies and ethics