Virtues and the common good in business

The Virtuousness of Ethical Networks: How to Foster Virtuous Practices in Nonprofit Organizations

“…In the literature, virtue ethics is primarily a theoretical approach that is crucial for understanding individual behaviors in organizational practices (e.g., Sison et al, 2018 ). Previous studies also show that not only individual organizations but also networks can become virtuous to better serve individuals and communities (Bright, 2006 ; Caza et al, 2004 ; Vriens et al, 2018 ).…”

“…In recent decades, scholars have focused on the possibility of applying a virtue ethics framework to management (e.g., Sison et al, 2018 ), reinvigorating the business ethics debate. From this perspective, virtue ethics refers to managers’ capacity to make wise decisions, both ethically and in terms of business success (Audi, 2012 ), given that virtuousness can stimulate performance (Cameron et al, 2004 ) and buffer against organizational dysfunction (Caza et al, 2004 ).…”

“…Therefore, to the best of our knowledge, little research on virtuous ethical networks has been conducted to understand the development of virtuous practices within individual organizations belonging to the same ethical network. Past studies have examined this topic only with reference to organizations not belonging to a network (e.g., Cameron et al, 2004 ; Meyer, 2018; Sison et al, 2018 ). Given that the virtuousness of an ethical network can facilitate the flourishing of virtues in organizations belonging to that network, it is pertinent to understand from an ethical network perspective how individual behaviors develop in organizations.…”

“…Adopting a virtue-based business ethics framework and focusing on nonprofit alliances, this study aims to investigate the virtuousness of ethical networks; that is, to explore how they promote virtuous practices within their member nonprofit organizations. This question is important in management research because virtues operate not on a theoretical level but in practical situations in which goals, context, and personal characteristics are essential (Sison et al, 2018 ). In addition, this research considers the perspectives of the network’s members, understood as organizational nodes of the network, and examines the virtuousness of the network from the eyes of those who experience it daily, thus providing a vision of the network from within the network itself.…”

Developing virtue ethics in management: a case of an interdisciplinary educational approach

“…Rethinking the purpose of firms has led to new form of business (i.e., benefit corporations or hybrid businesses), but it is also related to the way that we interpret the purpose of traditional firms (Hollensbe et al , 2014). The shift from profit-seeking goals to the common good as the purpose of a firm is largely acknowledged as the turning point of a transition toward a shared value view (Sison et al , 2018). In this context, the link between the common good and virtue ethics emerges, because the purpose of the firm cannot be separated from the positions of the individual managers, entrepreneurs, and workers that manage the firm’s day-to-day operations.…”