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Reframing “Morality Paysâ€\x9D: Toward a Better Answer to “Why be Moral?â€\x9D in Business

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  • John Corvino

Abstract

This paper revisits the “morality paysâ€\x9D approach to answering the “Why be moral?â€\x9D question in business. First I argue that “morality paysâ€\x9D is weakest when it needs to be strongest, and thus inadequate to the task. Then I examine and reject a proposed virtue-ethics alternative, arguing that it either collapses into “morality paysâ€\x9D or else introduces a new problem. After sketching an account of moral reasons, I go on to argue that “morality paysâ€\x9D can be reframed, not so much as an answer to “Why be moral,â€\x9D but as a prescription for reforming corporate institutions. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media, Inc. 2006

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  • John Corvino, 2006. "Reframing “Morality Paysâ€\x9D: Toward a Better Answer to “Why be Moral?â€\x9D in Business," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 67(1), pages 1-14, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:jbuset:v:67:y:2006:i:1:p:1-14
    DOI: 10.1007/s10551-006-9001-0
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Paine, Lynn Sharp, 2000. "Does Ethics Pay?," Business Ethics Quarterly, Cambridge University Press, vol. 10(1), pages 319-330, January.
    2. Freeman, R. Edward, 1994. "The Politics of Stakeholder Theory: Some Future Directions1," Business Ethics Quarterly, Cambridge University Press, vol. 4(4), pages 409-421, October.
    3. Spurgin, Earl W., 2004. "Looking for Answers in All the Wrong Places," Business Ethics Quarterly, Cambridge University Press, vol. 14(2), pages 293-313, April.
    4. Toenjes, Richard H., 2002. "Why be Moral in Business? A Rawlsian Approach to Moral Motivation," Business Ethics Quarterly, Cambridge University Press, vol. 12(1), pages 57-72, January.
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    Cited by:

    1. Matthew Caulfield, 2021. "Pay Secrecy, Discrimination, and Autonomy," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 171(2), pages 399-420, June.

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