Compliance with a social norm is a matter of self-enforceability and endogenous motivation to conform which is relevant not just to social norms but also to a wide array of institutions. Here we consider endogenous mechanisms that become effective once the game description has been enriched with...

1 An Overview of the Theory: Hierarchies, Social Contract and Reputation -- 2 Economic Theory and the Social Contract of the Firm -- 3 Games of Reputation and Compliance with the Social Contract -- 4 How Far Does Reputation Extend? Abuse of Authority and Corporate Culture -- 5 Information,...

By considering what we identify as a problem inherent in the ‘nature of the firm’ – the risk of abuse of authority – we propound the conception of a Social Contract Theory of the Firm which is truly Rawlsian in its inspiration. Hence, we link the Social Contract Theory of the Firm...

Drawing on the theoretical and experimental literature on distributive justice, we put some assumptions of the contractarian argument to an empirical test by means of an experiment which investigates the influence that explicit agreement under the veil of ignorance may have on individuals’...

This paper focuses on the relationships between firms and stakeholders and provides a theoretical explanation for the emergence of phenomena such as stakeholder activism and socially responsible behaviors by firms. We start by drawing an original distinction between weak and strong stakeholders...