City Research Online

Abstract

Although Howard R. Bowen’s 1953 book Social Responsibilities of the Businessman (hereafter SRB) is regarded as a classic in the fields of business ethics and management, the impact of SRB has been taken for granted and has rarely been evaluated. Problematizing the use of classics as core to the advancement of scholarly fields, we analyze the purpose underlying the citation of SRB (why it is cited) as well as the breadth (what is cited) and the depth (how much is being discussed) of scholarly engagement with this classic. Combining analytical induction, quantification and a critical citation context analysis of 435 citations from 320 articles citing SRB between 1953 and 2023, we identified three main categories of use—arguing, defining, and landmarking—and evaluated the depth and breadth of such scholarly uses with SRB. Our results reveal how these uses of engagement differ across disciplinary domains and over time. Our analysis of breadth and depth confirms the continuous superficial engagement with SRB. We rely on this case to conceptualize the paradoxical legacy of Bowen, discuss ethical issues inherent to the politics of citation and evaluate what ‘fair’ uses of classics could be.

Publication Type:	Article
Additional Information:	This version of the article has been accepted for publication, after peer review (when applicable) and is subject to Springer Nature’s AM terms of use, but is not the Version of Record and does not reflect post-acceptance improvements, or any corrections. The Version of Record is available online at: http://link.springer.com/journal/10551
Publisher Keywords:	Howard R. Bowen, citation context analysis, classics, business ethics, business and society
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HB Economic Theory H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labor > HD28 Management. Industrial Management
Departments:	Bayes Business School Bayes Business School > Faculty of Management
SWORD Depositor:	Symplectic Administrator

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