ABSTRACT: This paper enters the debate on how to manage tensions between economic and sustainability aspects, by answering the following question: how can economic efficiency and social responsibility be balanced when these dimensions come into conflict, especially when ethical dilemmas arise that require choosing between two options, both of which are ethically correct? Which of the competing interests should prevail? This work proposes the hypothesis that balance can be achieved by considering the company, as Di Carlo (2025) suggests, as a real person with two interests: a particular (or objective) interest and a primary interest that synthesizes the particular interests of stakeholders, including the company’s particular interest. The first refers to the company’s desire to maintain an adequate economic and financial balance to survive and develop quantitatively over an indefinite period, aiming for corporate immortality. However, in achieving this balance, the company may adopt responsible or irresponsible behaviors, even criminal ones, due to internal and external forces that cause it to deviate from what is lawful and ethical. The company’s primary interest, on the other hand, consists in maintaining an economic and financial balance in compliance with the law and ethics. For this interest, the development to be pursued is also qualitative, as it requires sustainable development from a social and environmental perspective.
KEYWORDS: Real entity theory, Shareholder theory, Ethical dilemma, Purpose, Business Judgement Rule, Primary interest of the firm
