The School of Economics, Management and Political Science at the University of Minho (EEG) is proud to announce that Luís Costa, a PhD student in Business Sciences, presented his doctoral thesis entitled “Essays on Corporate Moral Subjectivity and Accountability” on 15 May 2026.
In the author’s own words:
"The expanding power of corporations (matching or even exceeding state authority) has created significant moral and political effects from their business activities. Despite their evergrowing influence, there is still disagreement about their capability to endure moral assessment, without signs of a compromise being reached. Moreover, the debate tends to be narrowed to the nature of corporate action, instead of reflecting upon the conditions for (as well as on the mechanics behind) the emergence of corporate moral agency.
This thesis addresses these concerns. Its purpose is to explore how corporations can become moral subjects, concentrating on ontological and ethical issues related to questions about corporate capability to act, accountability, and performativity. To achieve this aim, a series of three essays were performed, each with its goals and methodological approaches.
Adopting a normative and interpretative philosophical approach, a theoretical framework is developed in the first essay in order to explore how can corporate moral subjectivity be recognised. The political and ethical character of corporations gains depth by studying the passive nature of their recognition as moral subjects.
The second essay follows a similar methodological approach to the first. But the purpose is to analyse the role of accountability in the process of recognising the moral subjecthood of corporations. To that effect, another theoretical framework is built, and accountability is revealed as the medium through which corporations achieve ongoing recognition, becoming subject to moral assessment as a result.
Following an interpretative and hermeneutical approach, the third essay presents a case study of the leading corporation of the Portuguese water sector to study accounting as an ethical practice sustaining the recognition of corporate moral subjectivity. The performative power behind recognition is disclosed by the accounts the corporate subject gives of itself, illustrating accounting’s ethical nature.
By addressing its moral foundations, new insights about corporate moral subjectivity and related accountability are expected to be achieved, contributing to extant literature."
The doctoral thesis was supervised by Professor Carlos Menezes and Professor Lídia Morais, from the Department of Management at the School of Economics, Management and Political Science at the University of Minho.
The EEG congratulates Luís Costa on his defence and wishes him every success in his professional and personal life!
