Abstract
The traditional theories of the firm leave no room for love in business organizations, perhaps because it is thought that love is only an emotion or feeling, not a virtue, or because economic efficiency and profit making are considered to be incompatible with the practice of charity or love. In this article, we show based on an approach to the human action within the organization, that love can and must be lived in firms for firms to operate efficiently, be attractive to those who take part in them, and act consistently in the long run.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Abbà, G.: 1992, Felicidad, vida buena y virtud (Ediciones Internacionales Universitarias, Barcelona). Originally published as Felicità, vita buona e virtù (Librería Ateneo Salesiano, Roma, 1989).
Andreoni, J.: 1990, ‘Impure altruism and donations to public goods: A theory of warm-glow giving’, Economic Journal 100, 464–477.
Aquinas, T.: 1990, Summa Theologica (Ave Maria Press, Notre Dame, IN).
Argandoña, A.: 2006, ‘Economía de mercado y responsabilidad social de la empresa’, Papeles de Economía Española 108, 2–9.
Argandoña, A. (2007) Economics, ethics and anthropology. In: M.L. Djelic and R. Vranceanu (eds), Moral Foundations of Management Knowledge. Edward Elgar, Cheltenham, UK, pp 67–84.
Argandoña, A.: 2008a, ‘Integrating ethics into action theory and organizational theory’, Journal of Business Ethics 78, 435–46.
Argandoña, A.: 2008b. ‘Anthropological and ethical foundations of organization theory’, in S. Gregg and J.R. Stoner (eds.), Rethinking Business Management. Examining the Foundations of Business Education (The Witherspoon Institute, Princeton, NJ), pp. 38–49.
Argandoña, A.: 2008c, ‘Consistency in Decision Making in Companies’, Paper Presented to the Workshop ‘Humanizing the Firm and the Management Profession’, IESE Business School, June 30–July 2.
Argandoña, A.: 2010a, ‘From Action Theory to the Theory of the Firm’, IESE Business School Working Paper WP-855, April.
Argandoña, A.: 2010b, ‘Don y gratuidad en la empresa’, in D. Melé and J. M. Castellà (eds.), El desarrollo humano intgral, pp. 227–241.
Aristotle: 1995, The Art of Rhetoric (Penguin Classics, New York, NY).
Aristotle: 2009, The Nichomachean Ethics (Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK).
Benedict XVI: 2006, Encyclical Letter. Deus caritas est (Libreria Editrice Vaticana, Vatican City).
Burton, B.K. and C.P. Dunn: 1996, ‘Feminist ethics as moral grounding for stakeholder theory’, Business Ethics Quarterly 6, 133–147.
Caldwell, C. and R.D. Dixon: 2010, ‘Love, forgiveness, and trust: Critical values of the modern leader’, Journal of Business Ethics 93, 91–101.
Cameron, K.S., J.E. Dutton and R.E. Quinn: 2003, Positive Organizational Leadership: Foundations of a New Discipline (Berrett-Koehler Pulishers, Inc., San Francisco, CA).
Cicero, M.T.: 1983, De finibus, bonorum et malorum (Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA).
Coase, R.: 1937, ‘The nature of the firm’, Economica 4, 386–405.
Fehr, E. and K. M. Schmidt: 2005, ‘The Economics of Fairness, Reciprocity and Altruism. Experimental Evidence and New Theories’, University of Munich, Department of Economics, Discussion Paper 2005-20.
Finnis, J.: 1998, Aquinas. Moral, Political, and Legal Theory (Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK).
Friedman, M.: 1970, ‘The Social Responsibility of Business Is to Increase Its Profits’, The New York Times Magazine, September 13, 32–33.
Fromm, E.: 1956, The Art of Loving (Harper, New York, NY).
Gilligan, C.: 1982, In a Different Voice: Psychological Theory and Women’s Development (Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA).
Herrero, M.: 2006, ‘Qué puede significar el “bien común” en la sociedad pluralista contemporánea’, Revista Empresa y Humanismo 9, 127–140.
Jensen, M. and W. Meckling: 1976, ‘Theory of the firm: Managerial behavior, agency costs and ownership structure’, Journal of Financial Economics 3, 305–360.
Kahlil, E.L.: 2004, ‘What is altruism?’, Journal of Economic Psychology 25, 97–123.
Knight, F.H.: 1921, Risk, Uncertainty, and Profit (Houghton Mifflin, Boston, MA).
Lewis, C. S.: 1991, Los cuatro amores (Rialp, Madrid). Originally published as The Four Loves (Harvest Books, London, 1960).
Liedtka, J.M.: 1996, ‘Feminist morality and competitive reality: A role for an ethic of care?’, Business Ethics Quarterly 6, 179–200.
MacIntyre, A.: 1987, Tras la virtud (Editorial Crítica, Barcelona). Originally published as After Virtue (Harvest Books, Notre Dame, IN, 1981).
Malo, A.: 2004, Il senso antropologico dell’azione. Paradigme e prospettive (Armando Editore, Rome).
Monroe, K.R.: 1994, ‘A fat lady in a corset: Altruism and social theory’, American Journal of Political Science 38, 861–893.
Noddings, N.: 1984, Caring: A Feminine Approach to Ethics and Moral Education (University of California Press, Berkeley, CA).
Pérez López, J. A.: 1986, ‘Should Businessmen Behave Ethically?’ IESE Business School, Technical note FHN-188-E.
Pérez López, J.A.: 1991, Teoría de la acción humana en las organizaciones. La acción personal (Rialp, Madrid).
Pérez López, J. A.: 1993a, ‘ética y dirección de empresas’, IESE Business School, Technical note FHN-111.
Pérez López, J.A. : 1993b, Fundamentos de la dirección de empresas (Rialp, Madrid).
Pérez López, J.A.: 1998, Liderazgo y ética en la dirección de empresas (Deusto, Bilbao).
Pieper, J.: 2003, Las virtudes fundamentales (Rialp, Madrid). 8th edition.
Pontifical Council Justice and Peace: 2004, Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church (Libreria Editrice Vaticana, Vatican City).
Rhonheimer, M.: 2001, ‘Is Christian morality reasonable? On the difference between secular and Christian humanism’, Annales Theologici 15, 529–549.
Smith, A.: 1776 [1904], An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations (Methuen & Co., London).
Spaemann, R.: 1991, Felicidad y benevolencia (Rialp, Madrid).
Tronto, J.: 1993, Moral Boundaries: A Political Argument for an Ethic of Care (Routledge, New York, NY).
Wojtyla, K. (John Paul II).: 1993, Love and Responsibility (Ignatius Press, San Francisco, CA).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Argandoña, A. Beyond Contracts: Love in Firms. J Bus Ethics 99, 77–85 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-011-0750-z
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-011-0750-z