The heavenly calculus and socially responsible business conduct: An explorative study among executives

Abstract

In this paper we present a theoretical economic model, describing the influence of eschatological beliefs of executives on their socially responsible business conduct. The core hypothesis is that the belief that one's eternal destination depends on how one behaves in business will provide an incentive to socially responsible business conduct. We confront the model with explorative empirical data, collected by in-depth interviews with and questionnaires among twenty Dutch executives. The data provide weak indications that eschatological beliefs influence the executives' socially responsible business conduct. © Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2007.