Promovendus: Dhr. C.W. van Aartsen

Promotores: Prof.Dr. M.G. Faure, S. de Hoo

Duur: 1/9/2014 - 31/12/2018

Promotie: Maastricht, 8/5/2020

Abstract:

Self-interested behaviour and the derivative benefits of individual competition are assumed and institutionalised in many aspects of Western civilisation. There is, however, psychological research which identifies self-interest as a destructive form of learned behaviour which results in greater incidences of corruption, free riding, short-termism and excessive risk taking. The proposal examines whether self-interest assumptions in corporate law, corporate governance and corporate social responsibility are structurally contributing to unsustainable self-interested behaviour. The research uses interviews and workshops to propose and analyse reforms for a corporate legal framework not based in self-interest but rather in the social norms underlying corporate social responsibility.