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The Challenge of Ethical Investment: Activism, Assets and Analysis

  • Chapter
The Role of Business Ethics in Economic Performance

Abstract

The concept of a challenge implies something provoking a response, and such a title illustrates two widely held but misleading views of ethical investment: that it is confrontational and concerned with simple, negative, avoidance activity. The question of ‘avoidance’ will be dealt with later, but ‘challenge’ generates in the mind’s eye a picture of people asking awkward questions at a company’s annual general meeting, if not actually demonstrating outside it. However, that is shareholder activism, which needs to be carefully distinguished from ethical investment. The two grew up at the same time, and many of the people involved were the same, but over time they have diverged to such an extent that they can be classified as separate types of activities. The subtitle, activism, assets and analysis, refers to three aspects of the subject which seem particularly deserving of further consideration.

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Authors
  1. Russell Sparkes
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Exeter, UK

    Ian Jones (Visiting Professor of International Management, Research Associate) (Visiting Professor of International Management, Research Associate)

  2. Centre for Business Research, University of Cambridge, UK

    Ian Jones (Visiting Professor of International Management, Research Associate) & Michael Pollitt (University Lecturer in Economics, Research Associate) (Visiting Professor of International Management, Research Associate) &  (University Lecturer in Economics, Research Associate)

  3. University of Cambridge, UK

    Michael Pollitt (University Lecturer in Economics, Research Associate) (University Lecturer in Economics, Research Associate)

Copyright information

© 1998 Russell Sparkes

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Sparkes, R. (1998). The Challenge of Ethical Investment: Activism, Assets and Analysis. In: Jones, I., Pollitt, M. (eds) The Role of Business Ethics in Economic Performance. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230379794_8

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