Exit,voice, and collective action in Swedish consumer policy

The development of consumer influence in Sweden is characterized by successive phases of initiation (1940–1953), expansion (1954–1971), consolidation (1972–1977), retrenchment (1978–1984), and decentralization (since 1985). For the study of consumer policy, the concepts of exit and voice, collective action, countervailing power, and integrated participation are used.It is shown that consumer policy neither belongs exclusively to the public domain, nor is simply left to the whims of the market. Its success depends in part on the participation of non-governmental organizations. However, the state's presence is essential for the survival of organized consumer interests as a countervailing power.

---

Abwanderung, Widerspruch und kollektives Handeln in der schwedischen Verbraucherpolitik

Zusammenfassung Der Beitrag kennzeichnet die Entwicklung des Verbrauchereinflusses in Schweden durch mehrere Phasen. Danach liegt die Anfangsphase in den Jahren 1940 bis 1953; in die anschließenden Jahre bis 1971 fällt die Phase der Expansion; die Phase der Konsolidierung fällt in die Jahre 1972 bis 1977, die des Abbaues in die anschließenden Jahre bis 1984, und die Zeit seit 1985 wird als Dezentralisationsphase bezeichnet.Bei der Analyse der schwedischen Verbraucherpolitik werden die theoretischen Konzepte (a) von Abwanderung und Widerspruch, (b) des kollektiven Handelns, (c) der Gegenmachtbildung und (d) der integrierten Mitwirkung verwendet.Es wird gezeigt, daß die Verbraucherpolitik weder ausschließlich dem öffentlichen Bereich zugehört, noch den Launen des Marktes unterliegen kann. Ihr Erfolg setzt zumindest teilweise die Mitwirkung von nichtstaatlichen Organisationen voraus. Allerdings ist staatliche Unterstützung notwendig für das Überleben des organisierten Verbraucherinteresses als Gegenmacht.

---

List of acronyms used in this article ARN Allmänna reklamationsnämnden — the Public Merchandise Complaints Board - HFI Hemmens forskningsinstitut — the Institute of Home Research - HSB Hyresgästernas Sparkasse- och Byggnadsföreningars Riksförbund — the National Association of Tenants' Savings and Building Societies - ICA Inköpscentralernas Aktiebolag - KI Konsumentinstitutet — the Institute for Consumer Information - KF Kooperativa Förbundet — the Cooperative Union and Wholesale Society - KoV Konsumentverket — the National Board for Consumer Policies - KPK Konsumentpolitiska kommittén — the Committee on Consumer Policy - KR Konsumentrådet — the National Council for Consumer Goods Research and Consumer Information - LO Landsorganisationen i Sverige — the Swedish Trade Union Confederation - LRF Lantbrukarnas riksförbund — the Federation of Swedish Farmers - MD Marknadsdomstolen — the Market Court - M SEK Million Swedish crowns - NO Näringsfrihetsombudsmannen — the Competition Ombudsman - NR Näringsfrihetsrådet — the Competition Council - OECD The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development - OK Oljekonsumenternas Förbund — the Swedish Oil Consumers' Union - PRO Pensionärernas Riksorganisation — the Swedish Pensioners' National Organization - SACO/SR Centralorganisationen — the Swedish Confederation of Professional Associations, SACO/SR - SAF Svenska arbetsgivareföreningen — the Swedish Employers' Confederation - SEK Swedish crowns - SHIO Sveriges Hantverks- och Industriorganisation — the Swedish Federation of Crafts and Small and Medium-Sized Industries - SI Sveriges Industriförbund — the Federation of Swedish Industries - SJN Statens jordbruksnämnd — the National Agricultural Marketing Board - SLV Statens livsmedelsverk — the National Food Administration - SPK Statens pris- och kartellnämnd — the National Price and Cartel Office - TCO Tjänstemännens Centralorganisation — the Central Organization of Salaried Employees - VDN Varudeklarationsnämnden — the Institute for Informative Labelling Victor A. Pestoff is a Research Associate in the Department of Business Administration, University of Stockholm, S-106 91 Stockholm, Sweden.An earlier version of this paper was presented at the International Conference on the Nonprofit Sector and the Welfare State — Development of a Research Agenda, Bad Honnef FRG, June 10–12, 1987, and at the 14th Nordic Sociology Congress, Tampere, FinIand, August 21–23, 1987.     

Students,ethics and surveys

In a recent article in this Journal Grant and Broom reported on a survey which they conducted concerning student attitudes toward ethics. They suggest that while their findings are only preliminary, such surveys can help instructors and schools to determine what type of ethical training a person from a particular demographic background might need. Likewise they may very well help a student's future employer determine the ethics he or she has based on the type of institution he or she attended. However, it is my contention that there are a number of problems inherent in the process and the interpretation which Grant and Broom suggest. I discuss these problems herein. J. Whitman Hoff is Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Bentley College. She has been awarded a number of grants including participation in two NEH Summer Seminars For College Teachers. She has published in the areas of business ethics, aesthetics and sports history. In addition to business ethics, she is currently doing research in the area of children's rights and is working on a book, Philosophical Issues in the Stepfamily.     

Business,ethics and law

The comparative seriousness of business law and business ethics gives some business people the impression that there is nothing important in business ethics. The costly penalties of illegal conduct compared to the uncertain consequences of unethical conduct support a common illusion that business ethics is much less important than law for business people. To dispel the illusion I distinguish two perspectives from which we can view the relation of business and normative systems: the internal and external perspectives. I show that in one perspective, ethics is hardly less important than law, and in the other perspective it is more important, more fundamental than law. I conclude with a discussion of why business persons must place ethical and legal rules ahead of profits.Richard McCarty has been a lecturer in the philosophy department at East Carolina University in Greenville, N.C. since 1986. He has published articles primarily in aesthetics and ethics.     

强者恒强，弱者退出——电视媒体推广会的必然选择

媒体推广会走到了尽头，这似乎有些言之过早，因为眼下正是电视台中形形色色的媒体推广会如火如荼进行的时候。本刊以本话题向一些电视台约稿之时，得到的也是不同的反应：愕然者有之，沉默者有之，响应者有之。但是，从全国性的电视台到地方性电视台，绝大多数电视台选择了官方式的沉默，媒体推广会成为一个多方回避的话题。     

Business policy,ethics and society

This section will cover (a) definition of business policy: strategic decisions in the enterprise; (b) ethical behaviour above and beyond the requirements of the law: what might this involve e.g. in respect of products and markets in which the business is prepared to operate? (c) does business have a responsibility towards ‘society’? For example, should businesses decide without being legally required to do so, to undertake activities which they think are in the national interest even if this may appear to conflict with strictly commercial interests? (d) if ethical/social decisions are required, who is to make them — at what levels of an enterprise — e.g. does the board make them all or are they also expected below board level? This section will also cover: (e) practical examples in the light of changing attitudes towards business and market behaviour in the 1980's and 1990's; (f) implications of attitudes towards corporate crime and of behaviour which may not be illegal but which may be regarded as ‘unacceptable’: this will be discussed with examples from experience in Australia and other countries. The section will first explain the meaning of the phrase ‘business policy’ and will briefly outline the kinds of strategic decision which have to be made in business enterprises. It will go on to consider whether there are things a business ‘ought’ or ‘ought not’ to do even if they are within the law. The section will illustrate these problems with examples in the light of changing attitudes towards business policy and market behaviour in the 1980's and 1990's. It will take into account some recent cases of corporate crime in Australia and elsewhere and also of behaviour which while neither against the law or outside the power of the board, might be thought ‘inappropriate’.     

Theological ethics and business ethics

Philosophers have constituted business ethics as a field by providing a systematic overview that interrelates its problems and concepts and that supplies the basis for building on attained results. Is there a properly theological task in business ethics? The religious/theological literature on business ethics falls into four classes: (1) the application of religious morality to business practices; (2) the use of encyclical teachings about capitalism; (3) the interpretation of business relations in agapa-istic terms; and (4) the critique of business from a liberation theological point of view. Theologians have not adequately addressed the questions of whether there are particular theological tasks in the field as they define it, and whether, if they define it, the theological definition is different from the philosophical.     

Creed,cult, code and business ethics

What does religion contribute to business ethics? Related to the practical, religion applies theological concepts to business situations; namely, vocation, stewardship, human dignity, co-creation, co-conservation, sharing in God's power, servant leadership, encounter with the Incarnation, sacramental sign and justice (divine and human). These concepts suggest the threefold component of religion: doctrine (creed), worship (cult) and values governing behavior (code). A principle taken from religious practice illustrates its unique contribution to business ethics. The principle of proportionality (or double effect) exemplifies code in its balancing of good and evil outcomes. The more contemporary principle called the fundamental option identifies the role of vocation and calling in the notion of creed. The component cult might be reflected in the insistence on human dignity which is highlighted in papal social teaching.     

制度环境、退出呼吁机制与有效公司治理模式

传统的公司治理理论利用不同融资模式的比较 ,用以评价不同治理模式的优劣。根据赫希曼的退出呼吁理论 ,结合美德两国公司治理模式的形成及其存在的问题 ,本文提出仅依赖于退出或呼吁一种机制的英美模式和德日模式都不是有效的公司治理模式 ,维持退出与呼吁之间的均衡 ,两种机制并用对于获得有效的公司治理模式是十分重要的。     

Social welfare, positivism and business ethics

It appears that there is a conflict of values running through business ethics between profits accruing to shareholders and the cost of entrepreneurial activities on wider stakeholders. In the ethics research literature, the multiplicity of normative ethical stances has resulted in much debate but little in the way of consistent policy proposals. There is, by comparison, an extensive literature in positive economics that attempts to resolve value conflicts similar to those faced by business ethicists. In this paper the adoption of positive welfare statements are advocated and the value judgements implicit in economics are used as the starting point. It is argued that there is merit in expressly stating a set of value judgements to demonstrate the intractable nature of finding a social consensus without a positive social welfare function that explicitly weights the values. This paper reviews the arguments surrounding corporate objectives, particularly with regard to ethical considerations and the profit maximisation orthodoxy. This is discussed within the stakeholder-stockholder narrative. A range of ethical positions in the management strategy literature are analysed and discussed. It is argued that the values underpinning business ethics research can be conceived of via a function of social welfare (including an ethical 'auctioneering' model). The paper concludes by suggesting that all ethical positions can be captured by a Bergson-type welfare function.     

Business ethics,ideology, and the naturalistic fallacy

This paper addresses the relationship between theoretical and applied ethics. It directs philosophical attention toward the concept of ‘ideology’, conceived as a bridge between high-level principles and decision-making practice. How are we to understand this bridge and how can we avoid the naturalistic fallacy while taking ideology seriously? It is then suggested that the challenge posed by ideology in the arena of organizational ethics is in many ways similar to the challenge posed by developmentalist accounts of moral ‘stages’ in the arena of individual ethics, namely, how to account for the normative force of frameworks that are theoretically derivative yet practically essential.     

Trade Liberalisation,Exit, and Output and Employment Adjustments of Australian Manufacturing Establishments

This paper investigates three potential sources of Australia’s manufacturing productivity gains from trade liberalisation in the mid‐1990s: the exit of inefficient establishments, economies of scale, and the reduction in x‐inefficiency via employment reduction. We use manufacturing establishment level data and exploit the intersectoral variation in the effective rates of assistance (ERA) to see how businesses adjusted to trade liberalisation during the period. We find the documented productivity gains to be mostly accounted for by the reduction in x‐inefficiency through employment shedding in industries experiencing a high degree of trade liberalisation. We find little evidence that the exit of inefficient establishments in highly liberalised industries contributes to productivity gains. In fact, we find that the more productive establishments are more likely to exit, perhaps reflecting product switching by these businesses to make more profitable use of inputs. Similarly, there does not appear to be a strong relationship between the extent of trade liberalisation and output adjustments. However, we do find indicative evidence of an overall productivity‐enhancing effect through economies of scale. These findings suggest that, at least for the case of Australia, the ease of making employment adjustments can be crucial for policies such as trade liberalisation to have the desired effect. In addition, trade liberalisation may provide incentives for domestic producers to seek more profitable use of their inputs and to move further downward along their cost curves. We think further studies assessing the productivity gains from product switching and economies of scale effects in both liberalised and non‐liberalised industries and focusing on the interplay between labour market policy and firm adjustments would be valuable.     

信任、初创期企业扩张与市场退出风险

中国企业普遍存在寿命短的问题,尤其随着中国经济增长“减速换挡”时代到来,由“创业浪潮”引爆的大量初创企业该如何存活并茁壮成长,是中国经济保持良好发展潜力的重要议题.因此,本文以信任为切入点,利用2007年、2008年和2009年初创期企业的截面数据,对比分析随着中国经济环境演变,信任对降低初创期企业规模扩张的市场退出风险的影响,并通过作用机制检验对其进行解释.研究发现:经济环境良好时,初创期企业规模扩张降低了市场退出风险,随着经济环境恶化,初创期企业规模扩张的市场退出风险也在提高,但信任能够起到缓解作用;缓解融资约束机制在经济环境良好时可以解释信任降低初创期企业规模扩张的市场退出风险,经济环境恶化时,高信任度地区的高劳动生产率企业却因缓解融资约束机制无法发挥作用而存在更高的市场退出风险;降低交易成本机制不成立;提升创新效率机制在经济环境恶化时可以解释信任降低初创期企业规模扩张的市场退出风险.     

Export Entry,Export Exit and Productivity in German Manufacturing Industries

This paper contributes to the flourishing literature on exports and productivity by using a unique newly available panel of exporting establishments from the manufacturing sector of Germany from 1995 to 2004 to test three hypotheses motivated by a theoretical model by Hopenhayn (Econometrica 1992): (H1) Firms that stop exporting in year t were in t?1 less productive than firms that continue to export in t. (H2) Firms that start to export in year t are less productive than firms that export both in year t?1 and in year t. (H3) Firms from a cohort of export starters that still export in the last year of the panel were more productive in the start year than firms from the same cohort that stopped exporting in between. While results for West Germany support all three hypotheses, this is only the case for (H1) and (H2) in East Germany.     

Sex,ethics and the practice of law

A woman walks into a room and sits down beside a man. They talk and as they talk he puts his arm around her. After a few moments they kiss. He becomes excited and starts to fondle her. She does not resist. A few moments later, she gets up and leaves.A man and a woman drive into a parking lot. It is dark, the lot is empty. He stops the car, turns out the lights and puts his arm around her. They kiss, then make love. After 30 minutes they drive off.Frederick A. Elliston is Associate Professor of Education at the University of Hawaii and Executive Director of the Hawaii School/University Partnership. He has published books on crime, women, sex, policing and whistleblowing as well as phenomenology and existentialism.This paper was prepared for presentation at the 11th National Conference on Lawyers' Professional Responsibility, May 30th to June 1st, San Francisco, CA.     

Corporate profit,entrepreneurship theory and business ethics

Economic profit is produced by entrepreneurs, those special individuals able to detect and seize as yet unexploited market opportunities. Many large capitalist firms manage to deliver positive profits even in the most competitive environments. They can do so, thanks to internal entrepreneurs, a subset of their employees able to drive change and develop innovation in the workplace. This paper argues that the goal of increasing economic profit is fully consistent with the corporation doing good for society. However, there is little justification for corporations to transfer the whole economic profit to shareholders. Economic agents entitled to receive the economic profit are precisely those who create this profit, namely the internal entrepreneurs.