Conclusion: The Way Forward

The contributions to this book have applied the full range of meaning to the notions of governance and responsibility. Arguments have concerned retrospective responsibility, seeking to allocate blame and reasons for the state of relations between organisations and stakeholders. There has also been concern for prospective responsibility, that organisations and governments have obligations and duties to exercise. Some of the debates have also questioned the capacity for these to make moral judgements. This book has not sought to assess causal responsibility, recognising that not all failures or accidents attract blame. Nevertheless much of the debate on sustainability and governance, within this book and elsewhere, suspect some linkage between corporate actions and a wide range of undesirable social and ecological outcomes. Together we have ranged far and wide in exploring the terrain of governance and more generally the topic of business ethics. Some contributions have pursued a macro perspective in discussing the relationship between the corporation and society, but locate their discussions within differing frames.