Homo Curator: Towards the Ethics of Consumption.Peter Róna,Laszlo Zsolnai &Agnieszka Wincewicz-Price (eds.) -2024 - Springer Nature Switzerland.detailsThis book explores the under-researched sources of the consumerist culture and the environmental damage it has brought about. The book is an outcome of the symposium on “The Ethics of Consumption” organised and hosted by the Las Casas Institute at the Blackfriars Hall, University of Oxford as part of its Economics as a Moral Science Programme. It takes on two contemporary problems: the human weakness and capacity for wrong-doing, and the failure of modern economic theory to account for the moral (...) character of human behaviour and its implicit encouragement of gluttonous life-styles. In a time when grand political schemes are proposed to revive sustainability of global economy, the authors of the papers collected in this book highlight the need for moral renewal without which the most revolutionary structural reforms are bound to fail at producing the desired outcome. Topics of the book include the meaning and sources of avarice, the attempt to define what is enough, exploration of philosophical and theological perspectives which can serve as building blocks for the ethics of consumption. This makes the book of great interest to a broad readership of economists, social scientists and philosophers. (shrink)
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Wellbeing‐oriented organizations: Connecting human flourishing with ecological regeneration.Paul Shrivastava &Laszlo Zsolnai -2022 -Business Ethics, the Environment and Responsibility 31 (2):386-397.detailsBusiness Ethics, the Environment & Responsibility, EarlyView.
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Corporate Transgressions through Moral Disengagement.Albert Bandura,Gian-Vittorio Caprara &Laszlo Zsolnai -2000 -Journal of Human Values 6 (1):57-64.detailsCorporate transgression is a well-known phenomenon in today's business world. Some corporations are involved in violations of law and moral rules that produce organizational practices and products that take a toll on the public. Social cognitive theory of moral agency provides a conceptual framework for analyzing how otherwise pro-social managers adopt socially injurious corporate practices. This is achieved through selective disengagement of moral self-sanctions from transgressive conduct. This article documents moral disengagement practices in four famous cases of corporate transgressions and (...) discusses some implications for business ethics on how to counteract organizational use of moral disengagement strategies. (shrink)
The Collaborative Enterprise.Antonio Tencati &Laszlo Zsolnai -2009 -Journal of Business Ethics 85 (3):367-376.detailsInstead of the currently prevailing competitive model, a more collaborative strategy is needed to address the concerns related to the unsustainability of today’s business. This article aims to explore collaborative approaches where enterprises seek to build long-term, mutually beneficial relationships with all stakeholders and want to produce sustainable values for their whole business ecosystem. Cases here analyzed demonstrate that alternative ways of doing business are possible. These enterprises share more democratic ownership structures, more balanced and broader governance systems, and a (...) more comprehensive view of organizational goals and performance – which goes beyond the narrow concept of financial bottom line and into a stronger and systematic care of the needs and requirements of the different stakeholder groups. Thanks to this evidence and different theoretical and empirical contributions, we suggest that the strength and sustainability of enterprises come from their ability to fit into the environmental, social, and cultural context in which they operate. By creating values for all stakeholders, enterprises can involve them and gain deep support based on their commitment. This may lead to superior performance from a multiple-bottom-line perspective. (shrink)
Spirituality and ethics in management.László Zsolnai (ed.) -2004 - Boston, Mass.: Kluwer Academic.detailsThis book is a collection of scholarly papers, which focus on the role of spirituality and ethics in renewing contemporary management praxis. The basic argument is that a more inclusive, holistic and peaceful approach to management is needed if business and political leaders are to uplift the environmentally degrading and socially disintegrating world of our age. The book uses diverse value-perspectives (Hinduism, Catholicism, Buddhism and Humanism) and a variety of disciplines to extend traditional reflections on corporate purpose. It focuses on (...) a self-referential organizational-existential search for meaning, identity and success. Spirituality and Ethics in Management will be of value to managers, students of business and public administration, ethicists, psychologists and scholars in religious studies. The book can be used as supplementary reading in graduate and post-graduate courses in leadership, business ethics, managerial psychology, and social studies of religions. (shrink)
How Economic Incentives May Destroy Social, Ecological and Existential Values: The Case of Executive Compensation.Knut J. Ims,Lars Jacob Tynes Pedersen &Laszlo Zsolnai -2014 -Journal of Business Ethics 123 (2):353-360.detailsExecutive compensation has long been a prominent topic in the management literature. A main question that is also given substantial attention in the business ethics literature—even more so in the wake of the recent financial crisis—is whether increasing levels of executive compensation can be justified from an ethical point of view. Also, the relationship of executive compensation to instances of unethical behavior or outcomes has received considerable attention. The purpose of this paper is to explore the social, ecological, and existential (...) costs of economic incentives, by discussing how relying on increasing levels of executive compensation may have an adverse effect on managerial performance in a broad sense. Specifically, we argue that one-dimensional economic incentives may destroy existential, social, and systemic values that influence the manager’s commitment to ensure responsible business conduct, and have negative spillover effects that may reduce the manager’s performance. There are well-documented findings that demonstrate that reliance on sources of extrinsic motivation (such as economic incentives) may displace intrinsic motivation. Our perspective is a holistic one, in the sense that we will explore the influence of sources of extrinsic motivation on the manager’s intrinsic commitment to different types of values. We will in particular investigate how it may influence the manager’s ethical reflection and behavior or lack thereof. (shrink)
Hungary.Laszlo Zsolnai -2024 -Business and Professional Ethics Journal 43 (3):295-327.detailsThe paper presents the state of the art of business ethics teaching, research, and training in Hungary. It reviews the most important publications by Hungarian authors on business ethics issues since 2011. It identifies the most striking business ethics related problems in Hungary. It maps the important activities, topics and issues in business ethics teaching and research in Hungary and reports on the themes in training on business ethics. Also, the paper reflects on the main business ethics related issues that (...) Hungary faces in the future including restoring democratic institutions and the rule of law, reforming the tax system, managing the energy transition, and financing sustainability transformations. The paper concludes that business ethics can be considered as a well-developed discipline in Hungary. However, the impact of business ethics on the current economic, social and political affairs in Hungary should be increased which requires using creative strategies in knowledge dissemination and knowledge creation. (shrink)
Economics as a Moral Science.Peter Rona &Laszlo Zsolnai (eds.) -2017 - Cham: Imprint: Springer.detailsThe book is reclaiming economics as a moral science. It argues that ethics is a relevant and inseparable aspect of all levels of economic activity, from individual and organizational to societal and global. Taking ethical considerations into account is needed in explaining and predicting the behavior of economic agents as well as in evaluating and designing economic policies and mechanisms. The unique feature of the book is that it not only analyzes ethics and economics on an abstract level, but puts (...) behavioral, institutional and systemic issues together for a robust and human view of economic functioning. It sees economic "facts" as interwoven with human intentionality and ethical content, a domain where utility calculations and moral considerations co-determine the behavior of economic agents and the outcomes of their activities. The book employs the personalist approach that sees human persons - endowed with free will and conscience - as the basic agents of economic life and defines human flourishing as the final end of economic activities. The book demonstrates that economics can gain a lot in meaning and also in analytical power by reuniting itself with ethics. (shrink)
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How to Renew Business Ethics Education?Laszlo Zsolnai -2024 -Journal of Human Values 30 (3):252-256.detailsBusiness ethics education is losing credibility worldwide. This is partly due to the experience that teaching ethics in business schools does not necessarily help future professionals to be more ethical in business. The article agrees with Claus Dierksmeier’s criticism of conventional business ethics education and suggests that business ethics courses should be renewed both in contents and pedagogy. The article advances a position that business ethics education is much needed in business schools as they can give room for both students (...) and faculty for transformational learning and moral growth. (shrink)
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Economic conceptions and business models of Christianity and Buddhism.Gábor Kovács &Laszlo Zsolnai -2025 -Business and Society Review 130 (1):4-17.detailsThe paper interprets and comparatively analyzes the economic conceptions of Christianity and Buddhism and their representative business models. The paper contributes to the business and society literature by showing the relevance and applicability of Christian and Buddhist business models in the Anthropocene era. The paper argues that Christianity and Buddhism represent distinct ontological and anthropological positions, and their economic conceptions and business models are also different. However, their basic ethical values (charity, justice, and solidarity on the one hand, and simplicity, (...) non-violence, and compassion on the other) are not antagonistic but can be considered complementary. The Christian–Buddhist dialog about the economy is much needed if humanity seeks to survive the crises of the Anthropocene. (shrink)
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Humanities as a Resource and Inspiration for Humanizing Business.Michael Thate &László Zsolnai (eds.) -2023 - Springer Verlag.detailsThis book highlights the relevance of the grand traditions of the humanities as an untapped resource for business-world problems. In a time where the humanities are viewed as in decline or in threat of collapse altogether, this book enacts and extends the best of the humanities toward prevailing challenges within the complex realities of our current cultural moment. The book presents how the humanities can contribute to humanizing business and management. It explores and discusses various ways to integrate the views (...) and approaches of the humanities in business and management research, practice, and education responding to the unprecedented challenges of the Anthropocene. The relations between humanities and social sciences is also discussed, as models and theories of business and management are based on insights of social sciences. The book is an outcome of the “Humanities for Business” project of Princeton University Faith and Work Initiative, the European SPES Institute, Leuven, and the Business Ethics Center of Corvinus University of Budapest. It is of great value to researchers, students, policy makers and research institutions interested in using humanities for renewing and humanizing business and management. (shrink)
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Commentary on the identity and supererogatory actions of companies.Laszlo Zsolnai -2022 -Business and Society Review 127 (2):395-402.detailsThis paper argues that identity economics and social psychology provide a useful frame of reference to interpret supererogatory actions and suggests that identity of companies can be a driving force behind these actions. Companies may perform actions against the narrow sense of economic rationality if those actions serve purposes of high importance for them. The climate crisis and the more recent COVID‐19 crisis call for supererogatory actions by companies more than ever before.
Ethics in the Economy: Handbook of Business Ethics / Edited by Laszlo Zsolnai.László Zsolnai (ed.) -2004 - P. Lang.detailsThe book aims to provide a comprehensive, new look at business ethics topics and models from a European perspective. Apart from theoretical arguments and empirical data, case studies and games are used to get closer to real life problematics of business. The book is written by leading business ethics professors of the Community of European Management Schools (CEMS). Chapters of the handbook first describe the central issue and the latest theories and practices. They then introduce new approaches and analyze real (...) world examples. Finally conclusions are provided, which include ethical warning signals, proposals for future research and suggested policy recommendations. (shrink)
Handbook of Business Ethics: Ethics in the New Economy.Laszlo Zsolnai (ed.) -2013 - Oxford: Peter Lang.details<I>The Handbook of Business Ethics is a substantially revised new edition of <I>Ethics in the Economy, currently in its third printing. With new content and revised material, the contributors rally against the concept that ethics is only an instrument for improving business efficacy. They see ethics as fundamental to all levels of economic activity, from individual and organizational to societal and global.<BR> Globally, the ethicality of economic actions is often highly questionable and in many respects unacceptable. The ethical nature of (...) the economy should be considerably improved, but there is an inherent paradox: if we want to develop the ethicality of our economic affairs only as a means of achieving higher efficiency, in the final analysis we will fail. We have the chance to improve the ethical quality of our economic activities only if our motivation is genuinely ethical, that is, only if we want to realize ethical conduct for its own sake. (shrink)
Responsible Decision Making: Praxiology: The International Annual of Practical Philosophy and Methodology, Vol. 16.László Zsolnai -2008 - Transaction Publishers.detailsIntroduction: Responsibility and choice -- The idea of moral responsibility -- Complex choice situations -- Differing types of responsibility -- Hans Jonas' idea of "caring for beings" -- The moral experience of women -- Criticizing rational choice -- The rational choice model 5 -- Bounded rationality -- Myopic and deficient choices -- Violations of the axioms -- Rational fools -- The strategic role of emotions -- Social norms -- The communitarian challenge -- Duty, self-interest, and love -- Responsible decision making (...) -- Norms, goals, and stakeholders -- Choice as problem solving -- Ethical norms -- Who are the stakeholders? -- Co-evolving goals and alternatives -- Responsibility and the diversity of choices -- Rationality and respect -- Deontology -- Choices people can make -- The psychology of choice -- Prospect theory -- The "matching law" -- Incommensurability -- Modeling responsible decision making -- What is a responsible decision? -- Deontological payoffs -- Goal-achievement values -- Payoffs for the stakeholders -- Evaluation from multiple perspectives -- The maximin rule -- A geometric representation -- The procedural model -- Real world cases -- Donna's case -- The Ford Pinto case -- The World Bank environmental policy -- Applications in economics and public policy -- Responsibility and social justice -- The paradox of a paretian liberal -- Res ponsible agency in prisoner's dilemma situations -- Multidimensional cost-benefit analysis -- Ethical and social performance of business -- Nature, society, and future generations -- Epilogue: The responsible person. (shrink)
Transatlantic business ethics.Laszlo Zsolnai -2002 -Business Ethics, the Environment and Responsibility 11 (1):97–105.detailsThe Business Ethics Center of the Budapest University of Economic Sciences organized a Transatlantic Business Ethics Summit on September 15–17, 2000 in Budapest, Hungary. The Summit was sponsored by the Community of European Management Schools and Procter & Gamble.The main function of the Summit was to provide a forum for leading American and European scholars to explore the background theories and value bases of business ethics from the perspective of the 21st century. The participants reflected on the state of the (...) art of business ethics as it has been practised in the USA and Europe; however, the future of business ethics as a discipline was the main focus of the Summit. Since business ethics is closely related to business and capitalism, some considerations of the 21st century economic, political, and social reality were presented too. The paper is based on and composed from the abstracts provided by the participants of the Transatlantic Business Ethics Summit. The abstract booklet can be obtained from Laszlo Zsolnai, the Convenor of the Summit. (shrink)
Collaborative Enterprise and Sustainability: The Case of Slow Food. [REVIEW]Antonio Tencati &Laszlo Zsolnai -2012 -Journal of Business Ethics 110 (3):345-354.detailsThe current and prevailing paradigm of intensive agricultural production is a straightforward example of the mainstream way of doing business. Mainstream enterprises are based on a negativistic view of human nature that leads to counter-productive and unsustainable behaviours producing negative impact for society and the natural environment. If we want to change the course, then different players are needed, which can flourish thanks to their capacity to serve others and creating values for all the participants in the network in which (...) they are embedded. In the article, through the analysis of the Slow Food movement and the use of recent theoretical and empirical contributions in behavioural sciences and psychology, we support the collaborative enterprise model as an alternative to the still prevailing, mainstream business models. Evidence shows that caring and responsible efforts of economic agents are acknowledged and reciprocated even in highly competitive markets. (shrink)