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Modelling the Trade-off between Profits and Principles

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Abstract

Corporations discover that social responsibility pays off. However, sometimes doing what is ethical will prove costly to a company. The purpose of this article is to clarify this trade-off by developing an economic model that describes the choice between profits and principles. The model is used to analyse how external factors like a change in consumer interests and competitiveness affect the relationship between profits and principles.

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Graafland, J.J. Modelling the Trade-off between Profits and Principles. De Economist 150, 129–154 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1015656901927

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