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The Ethics and Politics of Academic Knowledge Production: Thoughts on the Future of Business Ethics

Author

Listed:
  • Gibson Burrell

    (University of Manchester)

  • Michael R. Hyman

    (Institute for Marketing Futurology and Philosophy)

  • Christopher Michaelson

    (University of St. Thomas)

  • Julie A. Nelson

    (University of Massachusetts Boston)

  • Scott Taylor

    (University of Birmingham)

  • Andrew West

    (Queensland University of Technology)

Abstract

To commemorate 40 years since the founding of the Journal of Business Ethics, the editors in chief of the journal have invited the editors to provide commentaries on the future of business ethics. This essay comprises a selection of commentaries aimed at creating dialogue around the theme The Ethics and Politics of Academic Knowledge Production. Questions of who produces knowledge about what, and how that knowledge is produced, are inherent to editing and publishing academic journals. At the Journal of Business Ethics, we understand the ethical responsibility of academic knowledge production as going far beyond conventions around the integrity of the research content and research processes. We are deeply aware that access to resources, knowledge of the rules of the game, and being able to set those rules, are systematically and unequally distributed. One could ask the question “for whom is knowledge now ethical’”? (See the Burrell commentary.) We have a responsibility to address these inequalities and open up our journal to lesser heard voices, ideas, and ways of being. Our six commentators pursue this through various aspects of the ethics and politics of academic knowledge production. Working with MacIntyre’s scheme of practices and institutions, Andrew West provides commentary on the internal good of business ethics learning and education. Inviting us to step out of the cave, Christopher Michaelson urges a clear-eyed, unblinking focus on the purposes and audiences of business ethics scholarship. As developmental editor, Scott Taylor uncovers some of the politics of peer review with the aim of nurturing of unconventional research. Mike Hyman presents his idiosyncratic view of marketing ethics. In the penultimate commentary, Julie Nelson attributes difficulties in the academic positioning of the Business Ethics field to the hegemony of a masculine-centric model of the firm. And finally, Gibson Burrell provides a powerful provocation to go undercover as researcher-investigators in a parallel ethics of the research process.

Suggested Citation

  • Gibson Burrell & Michael R. Hyman & Christopher Michaelson & Julie A. Nelson & Scott Taylor & Andrew West, 2022. "The Ethics and Politics of Academic Knowledge Production: Thoughts on the Future of Business Ethics," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 180(3), pages 917-940, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:jbuset:v:180:y:2022:i:3:d:10.1007_s10551-022-05243-6
    DOI: 10.1007/s10551-022-05243-6
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Ethan Waples & Alison Antes & Stephen Murphy & Shane Connelly & Michael Mumford, 2009. "A Meta-Analytic Investigation of Business Ethics Instruction," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 87(1), pages 133-151, June.
    2. R. Freeman & Michelle Greenwood, 2016. "Letter from the Incoming Editors," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 133(1), pages 1-3, January.
    3. Julie A. Nelson, 2014. "The power of stereotyping and confirmation bias to overwhelm accurate assessment: the case of economics, gender, and risk aversion," Journal of Economic Methodology, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 21(3), pages 211-231, September.
    4. Ferber, Marianne A. & Nelson, Julie A. (ed.), 2003. "Feminist Economics Today," University of Chicago Press Economics Books, University of Chicago Press, edition 1, number 9780226242064, September.
    5. Hyman, Michael R., 2004. "Revising the structural framework for marketing management," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 57(9), pages 923-932, September.
    6. R. Edward Freeman & Michelle Greenwood, 2016. "Letter from the Incoming Editors," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 133(1), pages 1-3, January.
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    Cited by:

    1. Laura J. Spence, 2022. "Radical, Relevant, Reflective and Brilliant: Towards the Future of Business Ethics," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 180(3), pages 829-834, October.

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