LSS-CLARS Seminar: Antisocial Business Models

Antisocial Business Models unpacks what makes business behavior "bad." Business behavior is bad if it causes harm to customers, employees, other significant constituencies, or the broader society. The book examines the most egregious examples alongside more contested cases. Both are contrasted with idealized business models, in which the parties have sufficient information and capacity and are not contracting under duress or other like circumstances, and (unlike the for-profit school example above) any third-party effects do not create third-party burdenficiaries. Notwithstanding society’s continuing efforts to address antisocial business models, they remain a significant problem – one that may very well be exacerbated by the advent of Big Tech and its associated challenges.

As well as unpacking the concept of bad business behavior and defining antisocial business models, the book seeks to explore where there’s consensus and where consensus is lacking – to give us a better vocabulary for understanding our differences, and perhaps a bridge at least to more productive conversations, if not to greater consensus. To that end, I consider what sorts of solutions might be most effective: some combination of “hard law,” “soft law,” structural and societal changes in business models, practices, and norms, and how these might be effectuated.

We hope you can join us.

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Host or Publisher Monash Law