Conditions for mission‐led companies to humanize the economy: An Aristotelian perspective

Abstract

With the creation of the legal status of “benefit corporations,” mission‐led companies have been developing since 2010 in the United States, but also in the United Kingdom, Italy, and recently France. Shareholders of mission‐led companies define a social, scientific, or environmental mission for their companies in addition to the pursuit of profits. Given this specific characteristic, these companies seem more likely than traditional firms to serve human flourishing in an authentic way. But are these legal forms and strategic objectives sufficient? This article builds on Aristotelian virtue ethics and the concept of the “good life” to identify necessary conditions to build a mission‐led approach to firms that can truly humanize the economy. We explain mechanisms through which the mission‐led approach may provide an essential lever for humanization for the individual person, the company, its industry, and the broader economy. We also identify several factors that may limit or prevent the mission company's ability to contribute to the good life. This conceptual article is inspired by the context of the emergence of mission companies in France since 2019, which has led many companies to question their purpose and their mission towards society and their mission's implementation.