Business Ethics in Germany – Problems, Concepts, and Functions

Abstract

This paper addresses the question of why business ethics did not become a standard part of research and academic education in German-speaking countries until now. It traces this trend back to experiences of the dictatorship prior to World War II. Until the 1980s, Max Weber's concept of value-free scientific statements dominated the discipline. Since the mid-1980s, several positions and concepts of business ethics have been suggested, all of which failed to garner the acceptance of business ethics. Therefore, an alternative, analytical concept of business ethics is developed which separates between logical, empirical and normative dimensions of ethical problems. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]