The Shared Responsibility Model

Abstract

This exploratory paper provides social context for platform corporations and examples of ethical transgressions by them and then canvasses the role of various organizational actors in controlling the ethical behaviour of ‘platforms', which may be seen to be more than usually problematic in this regard. From this survey, the conclusion is drawn that there may be no single actor that offers sufficient leverage to change organizational ethical behaviour. The paper then suggests the Shared Responsibility Model as a possible conceptual framework for a better understanding of the issue of ethical control and recommends practical interventions that may assist in realizing ethical behaviour by platforms that more closely aligns with societal expectations. The paper offers a caution about the side-effects of interventions to improve ethical behaviour, before concluding by pointing out implications of these findings for state-actor regulators and avenues for future research.