“Ethical blowback”: the missing piece in the corporate governance puzzle – the risks to a company which fails to understand and respect its social contract

The purpose of this article is to discuss the risks to a company that fails to understand and respect its social contract.

The paper provides a viewpoint on the “ethical blowback”.

The paper argues that two forces that are now influencing corporate governance reform can provoke ethical blowback, namely: Sarbanes‐Oxley style regulatory initiatives; and internal corporate compliance and ethics programs.

The paper provides a viewpoint on the “ethical blowback”.