IESE Insight - Business Ethics and Corporate Social Responsibility

Patience: the best remedy for business haste

Argandoña, Antonio Can you afford to be patient in a market that doesn't wait? Yes, you can, and it will benefit the productivity and sustainability of your company. Antonio Argandoña discusses the why's and how's of an overlooked virtue.

For leaders, ethics trumps fairness in employee opinions

Koopman, Joel; Scott, Brent A.; Matta, Fadel K.; Conlon, Donald E.; Dennerlein, Tobias Principled and moral leaders are perceived to treat employees better when dispensing justice -- even when they don't. A study of ethical leadership suggests it can lead to a more collaborative workforce, thanks to perceptions of fairness.

How to talk it out: shareholder dialogue that leads to change

Ferraro, Fabrizio; Beunza, Daniel By analyzing interactions between socially responsible shareholders and major corporations, Fabrizio Ferraro and Daniel Beunza present a model for creating common ground that can lead to real social change.

Are Spanish companies just paying lip service to gender equality?

Chinchilla, Nuria; Jimenez, Esther; Grau Grau, Marc Although most Spanish companies say they are committed to equal opportunities between men and women, only 16% have established incentives to promote them.

Key features for whistleblowing systems

Potito, Gianmichele; Aznar, Enrique; Vaccaro, Antonino Wrongdoing and corruption come with high social costs. And no country is immune. Antonino Vaccaro, Gianmichele Potito and Enrique Aznar offer five keys to putting effective whistleblowing policies into place.

In Search of the Virtuous Banker

Cowton, Christopher Despite some progress over the past 10 years, the controls put in place to prevent another global financial crisis fail to address two key concerns: corporate culture and individual character. Christopher Cowton proposes a virtue framework, so that those in the profession can start to define and agree what makes a good bank as well as a good banker.

A Basic Ingredient for Finance to Avoid a New Crisis

Argandoña, Antonio A decade after Lehman Brothers' collapse and the global financial crisis, Antonio Argandoña insists that ethics is the fundamental requirement to restore our sense of security and confidence in the financial system that was cracked by the last crisis.

From Protest to Product: How to Reconcile a Social Movement With Business

Lee, Matthew; Ramus, Tommaso; Vaccaro, Antonino To help fight the Mafia in Sicily, a tourism business called Addiopizzo Travel was born. Addiopizzo Travel's key stakeholders -- i.e., anti-Mafia activists, tourists, tourism service providers and entrepreneurs -- don't have too much in common. But its secret to success is purposefully engaging all of them.

Understanding the Paradox of Socially Responsible Investing

Yan, S.; Ferraro, Fabrizio; Almandoz, John If social responsibility is about putting the common good first and successful investing is about maximizing profits, where does that leave the growing realm of socially responsible investing? Under what conditions does it thrive? A study of 19 countries shines a light on the paradoxical logics at play.

7 in 10 Spaniards Believe Their Company Makes it Hard to Reconcile Work and Family

Las Heras, Mireia; Jimenez, Esther; Grau, Marc; Palet, Gemma; Riera, Gemma Spain lacks formal work-life reconciliation policies and corporate family responsibility is almost absent from business culture and leadership, according to a study led by Mireia Las Heras.