What business ethics can learn from entrepreneurship

Abstract

Entrepreneurship is increasingly studied as a fundamental and foundational economic phenomenon. It has, however, received less attention as an ethical phenomenon. Much contemporary business ethics assumes its core application purposes to be (1) to stop predatory business practices and (2) to encourage philanthropy and charity by business. Certainly predation is immoral and charity has a place in ethics, but neither should be the first concern of ethics. Instead, business ethics should make fundamental the values and virtues of entrepreneurs-i.e., those self-responsible and productive individuals who create value and trade with others to win-win advantage.