Burkard Schemmel, Karsten Bredemeier
EIM – European Institute of Management, Valetta, Malta
DOI 10.2440/013-0001
Abstract
Business ethics is an ever-evolving field of theoretical and practical study that has enjoyed a steady stream of interest with a hockey stick of attention since globalization, especially global collaboration, which took off after 2000. There is a relatively new movement towards alterocentric ethics, a philosophical approach that places the “other” at the center of a company’s consideration. Alterocentric ethics asks businesses to integrate responsibility toward stakeholders, the community, and the environment as intrinsic components of their operations. This study systematically reviews current literature on alterocentric business ethics. we applied a structured search methodology across academic databases, using predefined eligibility criteria to examine existing scholarly work comprehensively.
Based on the past five years‘ publications, there is a growing consensus that ethical behavior fulfills moral obligations, can contribute to a contemporary corporate strategy, and can even be seen as an asset when implemented consistently. Many attempts have been made to link ethical business practices, including corporate social responsibility (CSR), fair trade, sustainability, and ethical labor practices, to financial performance, customer satisfaction, employee engagement, corporate reputation, and long-term sustainability. Still, the actual financial implications of ethical operations are under-researched, or in other words, the link between ethical initiatives and quantifiable business benefits is not always stringent. There is a general consensus on the positive financial impact of ethical operations, but specific gaps remain in developing integrated frameworks that incorporate both financial and non-financial metrics. This leads to the fact that a comprehensive assessment of business success under ethical operations is not yet possible: Further research is needed to refine measurement tools for ethical operations for financial and non-financial KPIs and across various industries. We believe addressing these gaps will be pivotal for understanding how ethical leadership and culture contribute to financial outcomes.