Ethical Judgment and Radical Business Changes: The Role of Entrepreneurial Perspicacity

Abstract

This study examines the implications of practical reason for entrepreneurial activities. Our study is based on Thomas Aquinas' interpretation of such virtue, with a particular focus on the partition of practical reason in potential parts such as synesis, or common sense, and gnome, or perspicacity. Since entrepreneurial acts and actions deal with extremely uncertain situations, we argue that only this perspicacity, as the ability of correctly judging in exceptional cases, has the power to find wisdom under such blurred conditions. Perspicacity frees entrepreneurs from their cognitive schemata rendering them able to be truly entrepreneurial. Based on this vision and thanks to a semantic analysis of the meaning of the Greek word gnome, we construct an interpretative model for entrepreneurial judgment composed of three dimensions, specifically, knowledge-cognitive, external-affective, and personal-reflective. The model highlights how a 'successful' entrepreneurial judgment is also such from a holistic point of view.

What Sparks Ethical Decision Making? The Interplay Between Moral Intuition and Moral Reasoning: Lessons from the Scholastic Doctrine

“…In other words, synderesis also fosters decision makers' moral reasoning inputs. However, we want to stress that in uncertain, dynamic, and equivocal contexts that characterize the modern business scenario (Groves et al 2008;Pellegrini and Ciappei 2015), the role of automatic and rapid moral evaluations represents a significant element (Dane and Pratt 2007;Weaver et al 2014). For this reason, it is important to refer to the connotation of morality that already intuitive moral judgments have, since this may be the only base used in such circumstances.…”

“…Building upon this, a variety of theoretically positive and descriptive models of ethical decision making have been proposed, all pointing to a predominance of rational processes (e.g., Ferrell and Gresham 1985;Hunt and Vitell 1986;Jones 1991;Treviño 1986). In such models, intuition and emotions are set apart or completely disregarded, and for this reason the rationalist approach seems to encounter limitations and shortfalls, especially in uncertain, unexpected, and dynamic contexts (Groves et al 2008;Pellegrini and Ciappei 2015;Treviño et al 2006). In such circumstances, decision makers rely heavily on their 'gut feelings,' emotions, and intuitive mental processes (Gaudine and Thorne 2001;Zhong 2011).…”

Prioritizing Short-Termism in Behavioural Strategy: Lessons from Enron – 20 Years On

“…This propensity, of which Enron seems to be a terrible but very illustrative example, should be tackled as soon as possible through efficiently and effectively redefining the "rules of the game" at an international level, for example with a more impactful focus on business ethics (e.g. Pellegrini & Ciappei, 2015), disclosure systems (e.g. Monteduro, 2017), remuneration schemes for executives and (top) managers (e.g.…”

Finding the extraordinary and creating the unexpected

“…Within PR potential parts, euboulia or good counsel concerns counselling and finding the right means for the action; synesis, or common sense, concerns judgment in matters of ordinary occurrence; gnome, or perspicacity, concerns judgment in matters of exception to the law. Pellegrini and Ciappei (2015) have recently pointed out that entrepreneurial decision making needs to be based on the virtue of gnome. Such situations require a more 'sensible' kind of judgment since the contingencies are exceptional (extremely uncertain), thus the judgment too should be exceptional.…”