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Robert Edward Freeman (born December 18, 1951) is an American
philosopher A philosopher is a person who practices or investigates philosophy. The term ''philosopher'' comes from the grc, φιλόσοφος, , translit=philosophos, meaning 'lover of wisdom'. The coining of the term has been attributed to the Greek th ...
and
professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who professes". Professo ...
of
business administration Business administration, also known as business management, is the administration of a commercial enterprise. It includes all aspects of overseeing and supervising the business operations of an organization. From the point of view of management ...
at the
Darden School The Darden School of Business is the graduate business school of the University of Virginia, a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. The Darden School offers MBA, PhD, and Executive Education programs. The school was founded ...
of the
University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United States, with highly selective ad ...
, particularly known for his work on
stakeholder theory The stakeholder theory is a theory of organizational management and business ethics that accounts for multiple constituencies impacted by business entities like employees, suppliers, local communities, creditors, and others. It addresses morals ...
(1984) and on
business ethics Business ethics (also known as Corporate Ethics) is a form of applied ethics or professional ethics, that examines ethical principles and moral or ethical problems that can arise in a business environment. It applies to all aspects of business c ...
.


Biography

Born in
Columbus, Georgia Columbus is a consolidated city-county located on the west-central border of the U.S. state of Georgia. Columbus lies on the Chattahoochee River directly across from Phenix City, Alabama. It is the county seat of Muscogee County, with which it o ...
, Freeman received a B.A. in
mathematics Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...
and
philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. ...
from
Duke University Duke University is a private research university in Durham, North Carolina. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco and electric power industrialist Jam ...
in 1973 and a Ph.D. in
philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. ...
from
Washington University Washington University in St. Louis (WashU or WUSTL) is a private research university with its main campus in St. Louis County, and Clayton, Missouri. Founded in 1853, the university is named after George Washington. Washington University is r ...
in 1978. He taught at the
University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public land-grant research university in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. ...
and the
Wharton School The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania ( ; also known as Wharton Business School, the Wharton School, Penn Wharton, and Wharton) is the business school of the University of Pennsylvania, a private Ivy League research university in ...
, and is now Elis and Signe Olsson Professor of Business Administration at the Darden School of the University of Virginia. He is also academic director of the
Business Roundtable The Business Roundtable (BRT) is a nonprofit lobbyist association based in Washington, D.C. whose members are chief executive officers of major United States companies. Unlike the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, whose members are entire businesses, B ...
Institute for Corporate Ethics, and director of the Darden's Olsson Center for Applied Ethics.Freeman's curriculum vitae
Accessed Feb 27, 2013.
In 1994 Freeman served as president of the
Society for Business Ethics The Society for Business Ethics is a non-profit organization established in 1980 to promote the advancement and understanding of ethics in business. Its mission is to provide a forum in which moral, legal, empirical, and philosophical issues of ...
. He is one of the executive editors of the journal '' Philosophy of Management'', and he serves as the editor for the Ruffin Series in business ethics from
Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print book ...
. In 2001 Freeman was awarded the Pioneer Award for Lifetime Achievement by the
World Resources Institute The World Resources Institute (WRI) is a global research non-profit organization established in 1982 with funding from the MacArthur Foundation under the leadership of James Gustave Speth. WRI's activities are focused on seven areas: food, for ...
and by the
Aspen Institute The Aspen Institute is an international nonprofit organization founded in 1949 as the Aspen Institute for Humanistic Studies. The institute's stated aim is the realization of "a free, just, and equitable society" through seminars, policy programs ...
, and in 2005 the Virginia State Council on Higher Education honored him with the Outstanding Faculty Award.


Work

Freeman is particularly known for his work on
stakeholder theory The stakeholder theory is a theory of organizational management and business ethics that accounts for multiple constituencies impacted by business entities like employees, suppliers, local communities, creditors, and others. It addresses morals ...
originally published in his 1984 book ''Strategic Management: A Stakeholder Approach''. He has (co)authored other books on corporate strategy and business ethics. Also recently he co-edited standard business textbooks such as ''The Portable MBA'' and the ''Blackwell's Handbook of Strategic Management.'' His latest book, ''Managing for Stakeholders'', was published 2007.


Stakeholder theory

Stakeholder theory The stakeholder theory is a theory of organizational management and business ethics that accounts for multiple constituencies impacted by business entities like employees, suppliers, local communities, creditors, and others. It addresses morals ...
is a theory of organizational management and
business ethics Business ethics (also known as Corporate Ethics) is a form of applied ethics or professional ethics, that examines ethical principles and moral or ethical problems that can arise in a business environment. It applies to all aspects of business c ...
that addresses morals and values in managing an organization. It was originally detailed by Freeman in the book ''Strategic Management: a Stakeholder Approach'', and identifies and models the groups which are stakeholders of a
corporation A corporation is an organization—usually a group of people or a company—authorized by the state to act as a single entity (a legal entity recognized by private and public law "born out of statute"; a legal person in legal context) and ...
, and both describes and recommends methods by which management can give due regard to the interests of those groups. In short, it attempts to address the "Principle of Who or What Really Counts." In the traditional view of the firm, the
shareholder A shareholder (in the United States often referred to as stockholder) of a corporation is an individual or legal entity (such as another corporation, a body politic, a trust or partnership) that is registered by the corporation as the legal o ...
view, the shareholders or stockholders are the owners of the company, and the firm has a binding
fiduciary A fiduciary is a person who holds a legal or ethical relationship of trust with one or more other parties (person or group of persons). Typically, a fiduciary prudently takes care of money or other assets for another person. One party, for exa ...
duty to put their needs first, to increase value for them. However, stakeholder theory argues that there are other parties involved, including governmental bodies,
political group A political group is a group consisting of political parties or legislators of aligned ideologies. A technical group is similar to a political group, but with members of differing ideologies. International terms Equivalent terms are used differ ...
s,
trade association A trade association, also known as an industry trade group, business association, sector association or industry body, is an organization founded and funded by businesses that operate in a specific industry. An industry trade association partic ...
s,
trade unions A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ( ...
,
communities A community is a social unit (a group of living things) with commonality such as place, norms, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given geographical area (e.g. a country, village, to ...
,
financier An investor is a person who allocates financial capital with the expectation of a future return (profit) or to gain an advantage (interest). Through this allocated capital most of the time the investor purchases some species of property. Type ...
s, suppliers,
employee Employment is a relationship between two parties regulating the provision of paid labour services. Usually based on a contract, one party, the employer, which might be a corporation, a not-for-profit organization, a co-operative, or any ot ...
s, and
customer In sales, commerce, and economics, a customer (sometimes known as a client, buyer, or purchaser) is the recipient of a good, service, product or an idea - obtained from a seller, vendor, or supplier via a financial transaction or exchan ...
s. Sometimes even competitors are counted as stakeholders – their status being derived from their capacity to affect the firm and its other morally legitimate stakeholders. The nature of what is a stakeholder is highly contested (Miles, 2012), with several definitions existing in the academic literature (Miles, 2011).


Corporate social responsibility

Corporate social responsibility Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a form of international private business self-regulation which aims to contribute to societal goals of a philanthropic, activist, or charitable nature by engaging in or supporting volunteering or ethicall ...
(CSR) is a form of
corporate A corporation is an organization—usually a group of people or a company—authorized by the state to act as a single entity (a legal entity recognized by private and public law "born out of statute"; a legal person in legal context) and r ...
self-regulation Self-regulation may refer to: *Emotional self-regulation *Self-control, in sociology/psychology *Self-regulated learning, in educational psychology *Self-regulation theory (SRT), a system of conscious personal management *Industry self-regulation, ...
integrated into a
business model A business model describes how an organization creates, delivers, and captures value,''Business Model Generation'', Alexander Osterwalder, Yves Pigneur, Alan Smith, and 470 practitioners from 45 countries, self-published, 2010 in economic, soci ...
. CSR policy functions as a built-in, self-regulating mechanism whereby a business monitors and ensures its active compliance within the spirit of the law, ethical standards, and international norms. CSR is a process with the aim to embrace responsibility for the company's actions and encourage a positive impact through its activities on the environment, consumers, employees, communities, stakeholders and all other members of the
public sphere The public sphere (german: Öffentlichkeit) is an area in social life where individuals can come together to freely discuss and identify societal problems, and through that discussion influence political action. A "Public" is "of or concerning the ...
who may also be considered as stakeholders. The term "corporate social responsibility" came into common use in the late 1960s and early 1970s after many multinational corporations formed the term stakeholder, meaning those on whom an organization's activities have an impact. It was used to describe corporate owners beyond
shareholders A shareholder (in the United States often referred to as stockholder) of a corporation is an individual or legal entity (such as another corporation, a body politic, a trust or partnership) that is registered by the corporation as the legal ...
as a result of an influential book by Freeman, ''Strategic management: a stakeholder approach'' in 1984. Proponents argue that corporations make more long term profits by operating with a perspective, while critics argue that CSR distracts from the economic role of businesses. Others argue CSR is merely
window-dressing A display window, also a shop window (British English) or store window (American English), is a window in a shop displaying items for sale or otherwise designed to attract customers to the store. Usually, the term refers to larger windows in the f ...
, or an attempt to pre-empt the role of governments as a watchdog over powerful
multinational corporations A multinational company (MNC), also referred to as a multinational enterprise (MNE), a transnational enterprise (TNE), a transnational corporation (TNC), an international corporation or a stateless corporation with subtle but contrasting senses, i ...
. Anticipation of such concepts appear in a publication that appeared in 1968 by Italian economist Giancarlo Pallavicini, creator of the "Method of the decomposition of the parameters" for the calculation of the results does not directly cost of business, regarding ethical issues, moral, social, cultural and environmental."Universal Biographical Encyclopedia" Treccani, 2007 edition, Vol. 14, p. 617; "Treccani - Portal", Social sciences / economics / Biographies; Bancoper Annual Meeting, Bologna, 15.11.2008, Prefect Angelo Tranfaglia, "Profit and Social Responsibility", p. 12; "Finanza e Mercati", 3 February 2009, p. 11, Mara Consoli, "When ethics becomes a bargain"; News Chronicles, CNEL, Rome, 12.01.2009, Adelaide Mochi, "Socialis Awards and Corporate Social Responsibility"


Selected publications


Books

* ''Strategic Management: A Stakeholder Approach'' (1984). Boston: Pitman. . * ''Corporate Strategy and the Search for Ethics'' (1988), with Daniel R. Gilbert. Englewood Cliffs, NJ:
Prentice Hall Prentice Hall was an American major educational publisher owned by Savvas Learning Company. Prentice Hall publishes print and digital content for the 6–12 and higher-education market, and distributes its technical titles through the Safari ...
. * Management, 5th ed. (1992), with James A. F. Stoner. Inglewood Cliffs, NJ:
Prentice-Hall Prentice Hall was an American major educational publisher owned by Savvas Learning Company. Prentice Hall publishes print and digital content for the 6–12 and higher-education market, and distributes its technical titles through the Safari ...
. . * ''Managing for Stakeholders: Survival, Reputation and Success'' (2007), with Jeffrey Harrison and Andrew C. Wicks.
Yale University Press Yale University Press is the university press of Yale University. It was founded in 1908 by George Parmly Day, and became an official department of Yale University in 1961, but it remains financially and operationally autonomous. , Yale Univers ...
. . * ''Business Ethics: A Managerial Approach'' (2009), with Andrew C. Wicks and Patricia H. Werhane. . * ''Stakeholder Theory: The State of the Art'' (2010), with Jeffrey S. Harrison, Andrew C. Wicks, Bidhan L. Parmar and Simone de Colle.
Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press is the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by King Henry VIII in 1534, it is the oldest university press in the world. It is also the King's Printer. Cambridge University Pr ...
. . * ''The Power of And - Responsible Business without Trade-Off'' (2018).
Columbia Business School Columbia Business School (CBS) is the business school of Columbia University, a private research university in New York City. Established in 1916, Columbia Business School is one of six Ivy League business schools and is one of the oldest bus ...
.


Articles

* "Stakeholder Management and CSR: Questions and Answers," with
Alexander Moutchnik Alexander Moutchnik (born 6 October 1976) is a professor of media economics and media management. He focuses on social media, media history, sustainability and corporate social responsibility. Since 2013 Moutchnik has been teaching at the Rhei ...
. ''UmweltWirtschaftsForum'' 'Environmental Business Forum'' vol. 21, no. 1–2 (Sep. 2013), pp. 5–9. . . . .


References


External links


Freeman's faculty webpage
at the University of Virginia

Justmeans.com, April 15, 2011 * , 2010 {{DEFAULTSORT:Freeman, R. Edward 1951 births Living people People from Columbus, Georgia Moral philosophers 21st-century American economists American business theorists Duke University alumni Washington University in St. Louis alumni American ethicists