Business Research, Self-fulfilling Prophecy, and the Inherent Responsibility of Scholars |
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Authors: | Michael Gonin |
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Institution: | (1) HEC, University of Lausanne, CH-1015 Lausanne-Dorigny, Switzerland |
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Abstract: | Business research and teaching institutions play an important role in shaping the way businesses perceive their relations
to the broader society and its moral expectations. Hence, as ethical scandals recently arose in the business world, questions
related to the civic responsibilities of business scholars and to the role business schools play in society have gained wider
interest. In this article, I argue that these ethical shortcomings are at least partly resulting from the mainstream business
model with its taken-for granted basic assumptions such as specialization or the value-neutrality of business research. Redefining
the roles and civic responsibilities of business scholars for business practice implies therefore a thorough analysis of these
assumptions if not their redefinition. The taken-for-grantedness of the mainstream business model is questioned by the transformation
of the societal context in which business activities are embedded. Its value-neutrality in turn is challenged by self-fulfilling
prophecy effects, which highlight the normative influence of business schools. In order to critically discuss some basic assumptions
of mainstream business theory, I propose to draw parallels with the corporate citizenship concept and the stakeholder theory.
Their integrated approach of the relation between business practice and the broader society provides interesting insights
for the social reembedding of business research and teaching. |
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Keywords: | Academic citizenship Business ethics Business schools Corporate citizenship Philosophy of science Science-society interface Self-fulfilling prophecy Social responsibility Stakeholder theory |
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