Merck and River Blindness Merck developed a drug to cure River Blindness, a disease which occurs mostly in African Countries. They had the intention of selling the drug to someone who would distribute it to the desolate places where the patients were that needed it. After a while when no one came forward they decided to go to Africa and distribute the drug themselves. This cost them millions of dollars each year to give the drug away. Firms are part of a larger environment.
Firms have ethical and social responsibilities.
This perspective suggests that firms should proactively engage in issues management. A company must respond to the environment, whether it be legal, economical, or media. An example of a company who does this poorly is Jet ski companies. Lately, State Parks have been banning the jet skis, the jet ski companies should make the engines quiter or fund a training program. But instead they have done nothing and as a result their market share is slipping away.