Trustworthiness and self-interest

This essay discusses the benefits to a firm from morality - specifically trustworthiness - by exploring the analogy between firms and individuals. It identifies five factors that help to align trustworthiness and the interest of an individual: (1) reputation, (2) the social limits on how much trustworthiness demands, (3) uncertainty, (4) the ambiguities of self-interest, and (5) the role of trustworthiness in constituting an individual's interest. Each of these factors has analogues in the case of a firm, and the essay suggests the slightly paradoxical conclusion that in certain environments firms may serve the interests of their stakeholders by placing moral constraints on their actions. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.