IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/kap/jbuset/v144y2017i4d10.1007_s10551-016-3312-6.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Business Ethics: The Promise of Neuroscience

Author

Listed:
  • Diana C. Robertson

    (University of Pennsylvania)

  • Christian Voegtlin

    (University of Zurich)

  • Thomas Maak

    (University of South Australia)

Abstract

Recent advances in cognitive neuroscience research portend well for furthering understanding of many of the fundamental questions in the field of business ethics, both normative and empirical. This article provides an overview of neuroscience methodology and brain structures, and explores the areas in which neuroscience research has contributed findings of value to business ethics, as well as suggesting areas for future research. Neuroscience research is especially capable of providing insight into individual reactions to ethical issues, while also raising challenging normative questions about the nature of moral responsibility, autonomy, intent, and free will. This article also provides a brief summary of the papers included in this special issue, attesting to the richness of scholarly inquiry linking neuroscience and business ethics. We conclude that neuroscience offers considerable promise to the field of business ethics, but we caution against overpromise.

Suggested Citation

  • Diana C. Robertson & Christian Voegtlin & Thomas Maak, 2017. "Business Ethics: The Promise of Neuroscience," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 144(4), pages 679-697, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:jbuset:v:144:y:2017:i:4:d:10.1007_s10551-016-3312-6
    DOI: 10.1007/s10551-016-3312-6
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10551-016-3312-6
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s10551-016-3312-6?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Norman Bowie, 2009. "How Empirical Research in Human Cognition Does and Does Not Affect Philosophical Ethics," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 88(4), pages 635-643, October.
    2. Eun-Ju Lee & Gusang Kwon & Hyun Shin & Seungeun Yang & Sukhan Lee & Minah Suh, 2014. "The Spell of Green: Can Frontal EEG Activations Identify Green Consumers?," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 122(3), pages 511-521, July.
    3. Thomas Maak & Nicola M. Pless & Christian Voegtlin, 2016. "Business Statesman or Shareholder Advocate? CEO Responsible Leadership Styles and the Micro-Foundations of Political CSR," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 53(3), pages 463-493, May.
    4. Michael Kosfeld & Markus Heinrichs & Paul J. Zak & Urs Fischbacher & Ernst Fehr, 2005. "Oxytocin increases trust in humans," Nature, Nature, vol. 435(7042), pages 673-676, June.
    5. Thomas M Maak & Nicola M Pless & Christian Voegtlin, 2016. "Business Statesman or Shareholder Advocate? CEO Responsible Leadership Styles and the Micro-Foundations of Political CSR," Post-Print hal-01480535, HAL.
    6. Trevino, Linda Klebe & Weaver, Gary R., 1994. "Business ETHICS/BUSINESS ethics: One Field or Two?," Business Ethics Quarterly, Cambridge University Press, vol. 4(2), pages 113-128, April.
    7. Thomas Maak & Nicola M. Pless, 2006. "Responsible Leadership in a Stakeholder Society – A Relational Perspective," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 66(1), pages 99-115, June.
    8. repec:cup:judgdm:v:9:y:2014:i:3:p:199-206 is not listed on IDEAS
    9. Barnes, Christopher M. & Schaubroeck, John & Huth, Megan & Ghumman, Sonia, 2011. "Lack of sleep and unethical conduct," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 115(2), pages 169-180, July.
    10. Rachel Croson & Uri Gneezy, 2009. "Gender Differences in Preferences," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 47(2), pages 448-474, June.
    11. Donaldson, Thomas, 1994. "When Integration Fails: The Logic of Prescription and Description in Business Ethics," Business Ethics Quarterly, Cambridge University Press, vol. 4(2), pages 157-169, April.
    12. Salvador, Rommel & Folger, Robert G., 2009. "Business Ethics and the Brain: Rommel Salvador and Robert G. Folger," Business Ethics Quarterly, Cambridge University Press, vol. 19(1), pages 1-31, January.
    13. Cary Frydman & Nicholas Barberis & Colin Camerer & Peter Bossaerts & Antonio Rangel, 2014. "Using Neural Data to Test a Theory of Investor Behavior: An Application to Realization Utility," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 69(2), pages 907-946, April.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Vladimir S. Zhechev & Denitsa P. Zhecheva, 2019. "Ethical Branding €“ Corporate Commitment Or Compliance With Contemporary Trends," Annals of marketing-mba, Department of Marketing, Marketing MBA (RSconsult), vol. 4, December.
    2. Jin Ho Yun & Yaeri Kim & Eun-Ju Lee, 2022. "ERP Study of Liberals’ and Conservatives’ Moral Reasoning Processes: Evidence from South Korea," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 176(4), pages 723-739, April.
    3. Lu Zhang & Shenggang Ren & Xiaohong Chen & Dayuan Li & Duanjinyu Yin, 2020. "CEO Hubris and Firm Pollution: State and Market Contingencies in a Transitional Economy," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 161(2), pages 459-478, January.
    4. Alexander Newman & Huong Le & Andrea North-Samardzic & Michael Cohen, 2020. "Moral Disengagement at Work: A Review and Research Agenda," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 167(3), pages 535-570, December.
    5. Shuili Du & Assaad El Akremi & Ming Jia, 2023. "Quantitative Research on Corporate Social Responsibility: A Quest for Relevance and Rigor in a Quickly Evolving, Turbulent World," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 187(1), pages 1-15, September.
    6. Vasco Santos & Nuno Almeida, 2022. "Ethical Marketing Model for Luxury Hotel Chains: Development and Validation of a Performance Evaluation Tool," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(12), pages 1-17, June.
    7. Gazi Islam, 2017. "Editorial Essay: Mapping the Ethical in Neuroscientific Research," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 144(4), pages 677-678, September.
    8. Ronald Paul Hill, 2020. "Freedom of the Will and Consumption Restrictions," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 164(2), pages 311-324, June.
    9. Gazi Islam, 2020. "Psychology and Business Ethics: A Multi-level Research Agenda," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 165(1), pages 1-13, August.
    10. Matej Drašček & Adriana Rejc Buhovac & Dana Mesner Andolšek, 2021. "Moral Pragmatism as a Bridge Between Duty, Utility, and Virtue in Managers’ Ethical Decision-Making," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 172(4), pages 803-819, September.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Anna-Mari Simunaniemi & Mira Valkjärvi & Riikka Franzén & Sari Liikala & Jaana Tähtinen & Kati Suomi & Jaana Jeminen, 2023. "Microentrepreneurs as Socially Responsible Leaders," South Asian Journal of Business and Management Cases, , vol. 12(1), pages 14-30, April.
    2. Xueting Jiang & Bogdan Prokopovych & Garett DiStefano, 2022. "Leveraging A Lenient Category in Practicing Responsible Leadership: A Case Study," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 181(2), pages 413-425, November.
    3. Cheng, Ken & Wei, Feng & Lin, Yinghui, 2019. "The trickle-down effect of responsible leadership on unethical pro-organizational behavior: The moderating role of leader-follower value congruence," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 102(C), pages 34-43.
    4. Chu-Mei Liu & Chieh-Peng Lin, 2018. "Assessing the effects of responsible leadership and ethical conflict on behavioral intention," Review of Managerial Science, Springer, vol. 12(4), pages 1003-1024, October.
    5. Carla Freire & Joana Gonçalves, 2021. "The Relationship between Responsible Leadership and Organizational Citizenship Behavior in the Hospitality Industry," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(9), pages 1-16, April.
    6. Moez Bennouri & Anastasia Cozarenco & Samuel Anokye Nyarko, 2024. "Women on Boards and Performance Trade-offs in Social Enterprises: Insights from Microfinance," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 190(1), pages 165-198, February.
    7. Vikraman R & Shulagna Sarkar & Vishnukumar K & Selvarasu A, 2021. "Leading Sustainable CSR Efforts: A Case of Sneha Opportunity School by NLCIL," Indian Journal of Corporate Governance, , vol. 14(1), pages 110-125, June.
    8. Anna-Maija Lämsä & Anne Keränen, 2020. "Responsible Leadership in the Manager–Employee Relationship," South Asian Journal of Business and Management Cases, , vol. 9(3), pages 422-432, December.
    9. Wolfgang Breuer & Jannis Bischof & Christian Hofmann & Jochen Hundsdoerfer & Hans-Ulrich Küpper & Marko Sarstedt & Philipp Schreck & Tim Weitzel & Peter Witt, 2023. "Recent developments in Business Economics," Journal of Business Economics, Springer, vol. 93(6), pages 989-1013, August.
    10. Xinyue Zhang & Dian Li & Xintong Guo, 2022. "Antecedents of Responsible Leadership: Proactive and Passive Responsible Leadership Behavior," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(14), pages 1-22, July.
    11. Zhongju Liao & Manting Zhang, 2020. "The influence of responsible leadership on environmental innovation and environmental performance: The moderating role of managerial discretion," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(5), pages 2016-2027, September.
    12. Nicola M. Pless & Atri Sengupta & Melissa A. Wheeler & Thomas Maak, 2022. "Responsible Leadership and the Reflective CEO: Resolving Stakeholder Conflict by Imagining What Could be done," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 180(1), pages 313-337, September.
    13. Christian Voegtlin & Colina Frisch & Andreas Walther & Pascale Schwab, 2020. "Theoretical Development and Empirical Examination of a Three-Roles Model of Responsible Leadership," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 167(3), pages 411-431, December.
    14. Sylvelin Foldøy & Trude Furunes & Åse Helene Bakkevig Dagsland & Annie Haver, 2021. "Responsibility beyond the Board Room? A Systematic Review of Responsible Leadership: Operationalizations, Antecedents and Outcomes," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(18), pages 1-41, September.
    15. Josep M. Lozano, 2022. "From Business Ethics to Business Education: Peter-Hans Kolvenbach’s Contribution," Humanistic Management Journal, Springer, vol. 7(1), pages 135-156, April.
    16. Giovanni Bartolomeo & Stefano Papa, 2016. "Does collective meditation foster trust and trustworthiness in an investment game?," International Review of Economics, Springer;Happiness Economics and Interpersonal Relations (HEIRS), vol. 63(4), pages 379-392, December.
    17. Giovanna Campopiano & Patricia Gabaldón & Daniela Gimenez-Jimenez, 2023. "Women Directors and Corporate Social Performance: An Integrative Review of the Literature and a Future Research Agenda," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 182(3), pages 717-746, January.
    18. Tulika M. Varma, 2021. "Responsible Leadership and Reputation Management During a Crisis: The Cases of Delta and United Airlines," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 173(1), pages 29-45, September.
    19. Raiswa Saha & Shashi & Roberto Cerchione & Rajwinder Singh & Richa Dahiya, 2020. "Effect of ethical leadership and corporate social responsibility on firm performance: A systematic review," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(2), pages 409-429, March.
    20. Nora Lohmeyer, 2018. "„Vocabularies of motive“: eine inhaltsanalytische Langzeituntersuchung von Motiven unternehmerischer Verantwortung in Artikeln des Manager Magazins, 1971–2017 [“Vocabularies of Motive”: A Content A," Schmalenbach Journal of Business Research, Springer, vol. 70(3), pages 277-308, August.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:kap:jbuset:v:144:y:2017:i:4:d:10.1007_s10551-016-3312-6. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.