Responsibilities of OSPs from a Business Ethics Point of View

Abstract

Certain parts of the debate on the ethical responsibilities of OSPs strike one with their heavily moralising and accusing tone. However, from a business ethics point of view, any assessment of these responsibilities should keep the pivotal role of economic competition in mind. Its exact degree or intensity may vary, but in general, economic competition limits the options of actors, which has consequences for their ethical responsibilities as well. I argue, first, that the OSP discussion should rest less on purely individual concepts of responsibility, but more on concepts of group agency. Second, there are still ways of ascribing responsibility to companies compatible with competition, as much of the debates on Corporate Social Responsibility show.