Business Ethics Research and Research Ethics in Business Research

Abstract

This chapter presents three expository discussions about the fields within business ethics. First, however, these three areas are preceded by a short introduction to the two main philosophical theories that underpin all applied ethics: deontology and utilitarianism or consequentialism. Although these two theories are not the only moral theories which are appealed to in discussions of business ethics, they are the most common. (See also social contract theories, virtue ethics, and the feminist ethics of care, e.g., for additional positions. In some other fields of applied ethics, principles, such as the principle of nonmaleficence and the principle of beneficence, underpin human agency and accountability.) Following that introduction to ethics, there is a brief introduction to the interdisciplinary academic field which is captured by the title “business ethics.” The chapter then addresses the growing field of business ethics research as well as the subject area of ethical issues in research conducted on topics related to business ethics.