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Exploring Ethics in Business Networks: Propositions for Future Research

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Extending the Business Network Approach

Abstract

In the current business environment, ethics and responsibility are emphasised as necessary values for successful business. Companies enforce ethical codes of conduct and stress non-harmful actions, expecting that commonly agreed principles will translate into actual business behaviour. Cases like Enron (Sims and Brinkman 2003) and the sub-prime mortgage crisis in the USA (Jennings 2008), the Bangladesh garment industry tragedy (Peck 2013) and unethical supply chain practices in the smart phone industry (Garside 2013) have created awareness of ethical issues and shown that companies can suffer severe reputational and financial damage when their unethical dealings are revealed. When such cases are reported, they often involve a major scandal that seriously impacts not only the company but also the whole industry or even the world economy (Benady 2009; Marriage 2013; Taticchi et al. 2013).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Turku School of Economics, Turku, Finland

    Aino Halinen & Päivi Jokela

Authors
  1. Aino Halinen
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  2. Päivi Jokela
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Business Studies, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden

    Peter Thilenius

  2. Department of Business Studies, University of Uppsala, Uppsala, Sweden

    Cecilia Pahlberg

  3. Department of Business Studies, University of Uppsala, Uppsala, Sweden

    Virpi Havila

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Halinen, A., Jokela, P. (2016). Exploring Ethics in Business Networks: Propositions for Future Research. In: Thilenius, P., Pahlberg, C., Havila, V. (eds) Extending the Business Network Approach. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-53765-2_19

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