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A Constructivist Approach to Business Ethics

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  • Michael Buckley

Abstract

A recurrent challenge in applied ethics concerns the development of principles that are both suitably general to cover various cases and sufficiently exact to guide behavior in particular instances. In business ethics, two central approaches—stockholder and stakeholder—often fail by one or the other requirement. The author argues that the failure is precipitated by their reliance upon “universal” theory, which views the justification of principles as both independent of their context of application and universally appropriate to all contexts. The author develops a contextual interpretation of “constructivism” as an alternative approach, and argues that this alternative meets the above challenge. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2013

Suggested Citation

  • Michael Buckley, 2013. "A Constructivist Approach to Business Ethics," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 117(4), pages 695-706, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:jbuset:v:117:y:2013:i:4:p:695-706
    DOI: 10.1007/s10551-013-1719-x
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Christopher Chan & Subramaniam Ananthram, 2020. "A neo-institutional perspective on ethical decision-making," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 37(1), pages 227-262, March.
    2. Sevdiye E. Yılmaz, 2019. "Methodological View of Business Ethics Researches in Turkey: A Review on Postgraduate Theses," International Business Research, Canadian Center of Science and Education, vol. 12(8), pages 107-115, August.
    3. Kasim Khorasanee, 2024. "Spoof, Bluff, Go For It: A Defence of Spoofing," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 189(1), pages 201-215, January.
    4. Christopher Chan & Subramaniam Ananthram, 2019. "Religion-Based Decision Making in Indian Multinationals: A Multi-faith Study of Ethical Virtues and Mindsets," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 156(3), pages 651-677, May.
    5. Hyemi Shin & Mai Chi Vu & Nicholas Burton, 2022. "Micro-processes of Moral Normative Engagement with CSR Tensions: The Role of Spirituality in Justification Work," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 179(2), pages 597-615, August.
    6. Mai Chi Vu & Nicholas Burton, 2022. "The Influence of Spiritual Traditions on the Interplay of Subjective and Normative Interpretations of Meaningful Work," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 180(2), pages 543-566, October.
    7. Christopher Chan & Subramaniam Ananthram, 2020. "A neo-institutional perspective on ethical decision-making," Post-Print hal-03107344, HAL.
    8. Steven A. Brieger & Siri A. Terjesen & Diana M. Hechavarría & Christian Welzel, 2019. "Prosociality in Business: A Human Empowerment Framework," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 159(2), pages 361-380, October.

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