Journal of Business Ethics

, Volume 142, Issue 1, pp 83–91 | Cite as

Knowledge Stewardship as an Ethos-Driven Approach to Business Ethics

Article
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Abstract

As a field spanning interests among researchers and business professionals, business ethics aims to provide guidance on what can be considered morally right, socially acceptable and legally transparent dealings in the human activity of providing goods or services for trade. Yet, cohesive theory of the ethics of business is lacking, and current ethical practices often fall victim to fluctuating business conditions and circumstances. Thus, stewardship theory is proposed as a more enduring and empowering orientation to more mindful business ethics that is borne out of organizational character, and knowledge stewardship is introduced as a set of practices that can support improved ethical behavior in organizations from an ethos-driven perspective. A definition of knowledge stewardship is provided in this article, and its associated outcomes of authenticity, authority and advocacy are highlighted. Practical recommendations are put forward to assist organizations in their development of stronger stewardship behavior, and exploratory research questions that heighten attentiveness to knowledge stewardship are presented.

Keywords

Business ethics Learning organizations Knowledge stewardship Organizational ethos 

Abbreviations

CSO

Civil society organization

CSR

Corporate and social responsibility

KM

Knowledge management

KS

Knowledge stewardship

NGO

Non-governmental organization

OL

Organizational learning

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Notes

Compliance with ethical standards

This article is conceptual in nature and does not include methods, procedures, or data related to human or animal subjects. The manuscript has been prepared in accordance with the appropriate ethical standards for research.

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Copyright information

© Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2015

Authors and Affiliations

  1. 1.The George Washington UniversityWashingtonUSA

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