Balance between self-attribution and external attribution of responsibility

 Fig. : Scale of Core Responsibility, authors’ translation, adapted from © IUW Berlin

Self-attribution and external attribution of responsibility take place within the social discourse. Socially virulent and controversial topics are negotiated in this discourse.

Example

Currently (as of 2025), these virulent topics include climate change, demographic change, the conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza, the refugee situation and digitalization, to name just a few.

To a certain extent, this discourse is the thematic backdrop in which companies and all of us operate at any given time and to which we (consciously or unconsciously) refer in our decisions and actions.

Within this discourse, the self-attribution and external attribution of responsibility is to be balanced with each other in an argumentative manner. Different ideas about the scope, extent and limits of a company's responsibility are discursively ground against each other and can thus lead to a consensus on the company's core responsibility. As such, discourse is a structuring element of society.

In an ideal sense, social discourse could be described as a non-dominated argumentative debate between the members of a society with the aim of reaching a rational consensus. However, the practice in which companies act and should assume responsibility is not an ideal space in which everyone relies on the normative power of the better argument.

Under the conditions of a differentiated, pluralistic society, a general consensus is even less likely than it may have been in more traditional societies in the past. It is unlikely that there is a generally accepted correctness or truth. This insight can be applied to responsibility. There will be no generally recognized scope or limit to responsibility. In this respect, the act of balancing between attributing responsibility to oneself or attributing it externally is an open-ended dynamic process that also depends on existing power relations. This also includes the fact that companies can create facts and express values with their products and services. These issues do not verbally but symbolically reflect the company's attitude and thus enter into the debate on the question of responsibility. They become reference points that crystallize the perceived responsibility or – depending on the aspect – the irresponsibility of a company. Seen in this light, the creation of a dynamic balance between internal and external attributions of responsibility is also an act of negotiating the legitimacy of corporate action.

Example

Iron ore has been mined in Kiruna for more than 100 years, however now a rare earth deposit has been discovered. In order to exploit this deposit and because subsidence from the local iron ore mine is threatening to swallow the town, parts of Kiruna will have to be relocated. This affects about 6,000 of Kiruna’s 18,000 inhabitants. Furthermore, the indigenous Sámi population of the area fear to lose the roaming areas for their reindeer husbandry and thus to compromise their land rights. With its mining activities and future plans the government owned mining company has created facts. In a sense, it is a factual statement in the discourse on environmental and social sustainability and thus on the ethical responsibility of companies.

Web­source

Video: Will Sweden choose money or tradition?
Deutsche Welle, April 22, 2023 (dw.com).
Time to watch 5.5 minutes

Article: Why a Swedish town is on the move – one building at a time
Viner, February 5, 2023 (theguardian.com)
Reading time 10 minutes