Approaching virtuousness through organizational ethical quality: toward a moral corporate social responsibility

Abstract

Today, in both theory and practice, the concepts of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and ethics are not necessarily related. Organizations can demonstrate high levels of social proactivity in their CSR policies with or without having laudable levels of ethical quality or virtuousness. This article introduces the concepts of organizational ethical quality (OEQ) to evaluate the moral excellence of CSR actions and policies, identifying and categorizing varying levels ranging from the absence of ethical virtuousness, termed immoral CSR (ICSR), to high levels of moral CSR (MCSR), or ethical virtuousness. High MCSR is the product of both high levels of OEQ in conjunction with more proactive CSR policies based on social action.

Confucian ethics, moral foundations, and shareholder value perspectives: An exploratory study

“…Disenchanted with business ethics that focuses solely on regulating economic exchange relationships, many scholars have turned to virtue ethics for guidance on developing moral character and living a righteous life (O'Mara‐Shimek, Guillén, & Gomis, ; Robson, ). As part of this effort, cross‐cultural dialogues have been initiated (Vermander, ; Zsolnai, ).…”

Institutional Antecedents of the Corporate Social Responsibility Narrative in the Developing World Context: Implications for Sustainable Development

“…This implies that it is not sufficient for firms to be regarded as virtuous based on exhibiting a form of Umunthu that is actually limited to enlightened self‐interest. This form of Umunthu is associated with highly explicit philanthropic actions but the underlying corporate structures and systems themselves exhibit low levels of ethical orientation (O'Mara‐Shimek et al ., ).…”

Aligning responsible business practices: A case study

“…Only a few scholars believe that business ethics and CSR are not related in theory and practice. O'Mara‐Shimek, Guillén, and Bañón Gomis (), for example, propose that ethics focuses on company actions while CSR is a response to the expectations of external stakeholders, yet the substance of their work focuses on integrating them through a method they call “organizational ethical quality.” In short, most scholars agree there is, or should be, a relationship between the concepts of ethics, compliance, and corporate social responsibility as studied in the business and society literature.…”