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QUEEN’S BUSINESS SCHOOL ORGANISATION, WORK & LEADERSHIP (OWL) SEMINAR SERIES

Wednesday 22^nd April

1pm

“Corporate social irresponsibility in mega-firms: Reinforcing epistemic injustice through moral decoupling”

QUB/QBS

Abstract

This paper focuses on the existential impact of megafirms on critical stakeholders through the case of Google and Project Nimbus. We utilize an epistemic injustice lens to theorize the corporate social irresponsibility (CSI) activities of megafirms like Google, which possess unprecedented scope, scale and power to shape modern conflict situations. Specifically, through pervasive economic, technological and political influence, we unravel the human rights violations that Google is complicit in by providing cloud services for the Israeli government, enabling atrocities in Gaza. Our theorization is brought to life through various media sources, including the UN Guiding Principles Reporting Framework, UN press releases and news articles. These sources highlight the role and responsibility of Google in allegations concerning Project Nimbus and its use by the Israeli government. Our theorization demonstrates the extensive breadth, depth and triggering effects that one human rights violation can have on others, across multiple stakeholders in various contexts. Specifically, we reveal how the CSI activities of megafirms, amassed through an accumulation of human rights violations, fashion a vicious, perennial cycle of epistemic injustice. Furthermore, we discuss how Google employs moral decoupling strategies to separate its culpability through opacity, resistance, deniability and avoidance. By integrating insights from related fields on epistemic injustice and moral decoupling, our theorization contributes to a deeper understanding of the detrimental consequences of megafirms and their extensive CSI violations. Our arguments also have implications for the significant challenges faced by vulnerable stakeholders in violent contexts, who are grappling with the relentless repercussions of increasingly prevalent and powerful megafirms. This interdisciplinary study brings novel perspective to several fields, as it sits at the intersection of megafirms, CSI and epistemic injustice; conducted by Kieran Conroy (IBEM) and Wojdan Omran (OWL). 

QBS Student Hub, Entrepreneurial Hub, 01.028

Teams

Meeting ID: 327 298 089 212 340

Passcode: QG9hE2So