Stretching the Frontiers: Exploring the Relationships Between Entrepreneurship and Ethics

Abstract

The relationship between entrepreneurship and ethics can be characterised as an intense love-hate relationship. On the one hand, entrepreneurs, who are regarded as creative innovators, are praised for their contribution to the development of society by creating new products, employment opportunities and thus opening new possibilities for all of us. On the other hand, entrepreneurs are often criticised for a one-sided pursuit of business success and being willing to compromise moral values if needed. This complex and multifaceted relationship between entrepreneurship and ethics was taken as the central topic for the 2004 annual conference of the European Business Ethics Network (EBEN). It is a tradition that some of the best papers from this annual event are published in a special issue of the Journal of Business Ethics. As usual for the Journal of Business Ethics, all those featuring in this issue have gone through a double blind-review procedure