Legal Responsibilities

Legal issues in a PESTLE analysis are often challenging to delineate due to their overlap with political and economic dimensions. Legal responsibilities are shaped by political contexts and economic expectations, making them integral to strategic thinking. While strategic thinkers can rely on expert advice, understanding the legal constraints and enablers that shape strategy is essential. This chapter adopts a balanced sustainability framework to categorise legal responsibilities into economic, social, and environmental domains. Economic responsibilities relate to trade, costs, and profitability; social responsibilities pertain to stakeholder interests; and environmental responsibilities address ecological impacts. The analysis reveals a gap between legal responsibilities and responsible strategic thinking. This stems from varying political and legal contexts, inadequate legal coverage of social and environmental concerns, and instances of non-compliance. Drawing on Carroll’s Corporate Responsibility pyramid and Visser’s Ages and Stages of CSR, the chapter proposes a process model for integrating legal and ethical responsibilities into sustainable strategic thinking.