Whether the successful conduct of business can and ought to adhere to ethical standards and support the social good is especially topical in light of the current economic crisis. It is often argued that organizations are designed merely as profitmaking mechanisms, which cannot afford to consider ethical principles since they have to survive under conditions of harsh competition. However, are ethics and economic success really incompatible? Scholars from a variety of fields have begun to investigate under which conditions the adherence to ethical principles may actually be beneficial for economic success. Ethics in business can thereby refer either to the observance of ethical principles within organizations - e.g., in giving consideration to the good of employees, suppliers, their families, communities, or the geographic region - or to the standards organizations apply in dealing with one another under competitive circumstances.
This volume highlights recent research and theory development pertaining to the relation between ethics and economic success on various levels (individual, group, organizational, or societal), clarifies what adherence to ethical standards may mean in a business context, and lays out a research agenda in order to stimulate future investigations.