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Service as a Bridge between Ethical Principles and Business Practice: A Catholic Social Teaching Perspective

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  • Gregorio Guitián

Abstract

This article presents the ethical concept of service as a way of specifying higher ethical principles in business practice. We set out from the work of a number of scholars who have found some shared ethical principles for doing business in a context of cultural diversity. Love, benevolence, consideration, and other related concepts are considered to be important guiding concepts for business but it is not clear how they are to be operationalized. We argue that the ethical concept of service can act as a bridge for bringing those higher principles into business practice. The article explains and refines the ethical concept of service, which has received little attention. In particular, we address the ethical ambiguity implicit in the common meaning of service, explain how service shows love in business, and offer an account of how service provides ethical growth through virtue. Finally, this work presents a variety of examples from business which illustrate how the ethical concept of service can be put into practice. To achieve the aim of this study we draw inspiration from Catholic social teaching. This source provides useful insights into service and can be understood and accepted without requiring that particular faith. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2015

Suggested Citation

  • Gregorio Guitián, 2015. "Service as a Bridge between Ethical Principles and Business Practice: A Catholic Social Teaching Perspective," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 128(1), pages 59-72, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:jbuset:v:128:y:2015:i:1:p:59-72
    DOI: 10.1007/s10551-014-2077-z
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Kenneth Goodpaster, 2011. "Goods That are Truly Good and Services that Truly Serve: Reflections on “Caritas in Veritate”," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 100(1), pages 9-16, March.
    2. Moore, Geoff, 2005. "Corporate Character: Modern Virtue Ethics and the Virtuous Corporation," Business Ethics Quarterly, Cambridge University Press, vol. 15(4), pages 659-685, October.
    3. Lora Reed & Deborah Vidaver-Cohen & Scott Colwell, 2011. "Erratum to: A New Scale to Measure Executive Servant Leadership: Development, Analysis, and Implications for Research," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 101(3), pages 507-508, July.
    4. Lora Reed & Deborah Vidaver-Cohen & Scott Colwell, 2011. "A New Scale to Measure Executive Servant Leadership: Development, Analysis, and Implications for Research," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 101(3), pages 415-434, July.
    5. John Williams & Robert Aitken, 2011. "The Service-Dominant Logic of Marketing and Marketing Ethics," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 102(3), pages 439-454, September.
    6. Sison, Alejo José G. & Fontrodona, Joan, 2012. "The Common Good of the Firm in the Aristotelian-Thomistic Tradition," Business Ethics Quarterly, Cambridge University Press, vol. 22(2), pages 211-246, April.
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    Cited by:

    1. Vargo, Stephen L. & Lusch, Robert F., 2017. "Service-dominant logic 2025," International Journal of Research in Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 34(1), pages 46-67.

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