Skip to main content
Log in

‘Are Strategists from Mars and Ethicists from Venus?’ – Strategizing as Ethical Reflection

  • Published:
Journal of Business Ethics Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Early strategy scholars have pointed to the importance of reflecting on moral issues within the scope of strategic management. Although strategy content and context have been discussed in relation to ethical reflection, the third aspect, strategy process, has found only little or no attention with regard to ethics. We argue that by emphasizing the process perspective one can understand the related character of strategic management and ethical reflection. We discuss this relatedness along formal, functional, and procedural similarities. Whereas formal aspects refer to the conditions under which both processes occur, functional aspects look at the role that strategy process and ethical reflection fulfill. Procedural aspects account for similarities in the nature of both processes insofar as the activities that are conducted within each process phase share common characteristics. We claim that ethical reflection can be thought of as an integrative part of strategic management – either explicitly or implicitly.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Andrews K. R.: 1971, The Concept of Corporate Strategy (Homewood, IL: Dow Jones-Irwin)

    Google Scholar 

  • Bailey A., Johnson G., K. Daniels: 2000, Validation of a Multi-Dimensional Measure of Strategy Development Processes, British Journal of Management, 11(2), 151–162

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Barnard C.: 1956, The Functions of the Executive (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press)

    Google Scholar 

  • Bonini S. M. J., Mendonca L. T., J. M. Oppenheim: 2006, When Social Issues Become Strategic, McKinsey Quarterly, 2, 20–31

    Google Scholar 

  • Carroll A.: 1999, Corporate Social Responsibility: Evolution of a Definitional Construct, Business and Society, 38(3), 268–295

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chakravarthy, B. and R. E. White: 2002, ‘Strategy Process: Forming, Implementing and Changing Strategies’, in A.␣Pettigrew et al. (eds.), Handbook of Strategy and Management (Thousand Oaks et al.: Sage), pp. 183–206

  • Collins J. C., J. I. Porras: 1991, Organizational Vision and Visionary Organizations, California Management Review, 34(1), 30–52

    Google Scholar 

  • Collins J. C., J. I. Porras: 1996, Building Your Companies Vision, Harvard Business Review, 74(5), 65–77

    Google Scholar 

  • Crane A., D. Matten: 2007, Business Ethics – A European Perspective, 2nd Edition (Oxford et al: Oxford University Press)

    Google Scholar 

  • Driver M.: 2006 Beyond the Stalemate of Economics Versus Ethics: Corporate Social Responsibility and the Discourse of the Organizational Self, Journal of Business Ethics, 66, 337–356

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dowling G. R.: 2004, Corporate Reputations: Should You Compete on Yours?, California Management Review, 46(3), 19–36

    Google Scholar 

  • Eisenhardt K. M., M. J. Zbaracki: 1992, Strategic Decision Making, Strategic Management Journal, 13(Special Winter Issue), 17–37

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Faulkner D., A. Campbell: 2003, Competitive Strategy Through Different Lense in D. Faulkner, A. Campbell (eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Strategy, Vol. I (Oxford/New York: Oxford University Press), pp. 1–20

    Google Scholar 

  • Farjoun M.: 2002, Towards an Organic Perspective on Strategy, Strategic Management Journal, 23(7), 561–594

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ferrell O. C., L. G. Gresham: 1985, A Contingency Framework for Understanding Ethical Decision-Making in Marketing, Journal of Marketing, 49, 87–96

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ford R. C., W. D. Richardson: 1994, Ethical Decision-Making: A Review of the Empirical Literature, Journal of Business Ethics, 13(3), 205–221

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Frigo M. L.: 2003, Mission Driven Strategy, Strategic Finance, 85(2), 8–11

    Google Scholar 

  • Gilbert, D. U. and A. Rasche: 2007, ‘Disclurse Ethics and Social Accountability: The Ethics of SA 8000', Business Ethics Quarterly, 17(2), 187–216

    Google Scholar 

  • Habermas J.: 2001, Moral Consciousness and Communicative Action (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press)

    Google Scholar 

  • Hamel G., C. K. Prahalad: 1989 Strategic Intent, Harvard Business Review, 67(3), 63–76

    Google Scholar 

  • Higgins E., B. Kelleher: 2005, Comparative Perspectives on the Ethical Orientations of Human Resources, Marketing and Finance Functional Managers, Journal of Business Ethics, 56(3), 275–288

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hofer C. W., D. Schendel: 1978, Strategy Formulation: Analytical Concepts (St. Paul et al.: West Publishing Company)

    Google Scholar 

  • Hosmer L. T.: 1994, Strategic Planning as if Ethics Mattered, Strategic Management Journal, 15(Summer Special Issue), 17–34

    Google Scholar 

  • Hunsicker J. Q.: 1980, Can Top Managers be Strategists?, Strategic Management Journal, 1, 77–83

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jones T. M.: 1991, Ethical Decision-Making by Individuals in Organizations: An Issue Contingent Model, Academy of Management Review, 16(2), 366–395

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kohlberg L.: 1969, Stage and Sequence: The Cognitive Moral Development Approach to Socialization, in D. Goslin (ed.), Handbook of Socialization Theory and Research (Chicago: Rand McNally), pp. 347–480

    Google Scholar 

  • Kohlberg L., E. Turiel: 1973, Moralization, the Cognitive Development Approach (New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston)

    Google Scholar 

  • Learned E. P., Christensen C. R., Andrews K. R., W. D. Guth: 1969, Business Policy: Text and Cases (Homewood, IL: Richard Irwin)

    Google Scholar 

  • Lorange P.: 1980, Corporate Planning (Englewood-Cliffs/NJ: Prentice-Hall)

    Google Scholar 

  • Mintzberg H.: 1994, The Rise and Fall of Strategic Planning (New York et al.: Prentice Hall)

    Google Scholar 

  • Moore S.: 1995, Making Sense of Strategic Management: Towards a Constructive Guide, Management Decision, 33(1), 19–23

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Noble R.: 1999, The Eclectic Roots and Strategy Implementation Research, Journal of Business Research, 45(2), 119–134

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Paine L. S.: 1994, Managing for Organizational Integrity, Harvard Business Review, 72(2), 106–117

    Google Scholar 

  • Pettigrew A.: 1987, The Management of Strategic Change (New York, NY: Blackwell)

    Google Scholar 

  • Pettigrew A.: 1992, The Character and Significance of Strategy Process Research, Strategic Management Journal, 13(Special Winter Issue), 5–16

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Porter M. E.: 1980, Competitive Strategy (New York: McGraw-Hill)

    Google Scholar 

  • Porter M. E.: 1996, What is Strategy, Harvard Business Review, 74, 61–78

    Google Scholar 

  • Quinn J. B.: 1978, Strategic Change: “Logical Incrementalism”, Sloan Management Review, 20(1): 7–21

    Google Scholar 

  • Rasche, A. and D. Esser: 2006, ‘From Stakeholder Management to Stakeholder Accountability: Applying Habermasian Discourse Ethics to Accountability Research Journal of Business Ethics, 65, 251–267

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rest J. R.: 1986, Moral Development: Advances in Theory and Research (New York/NY: Praeger)

    Google Scholar 

  • Robertson C. J., W. F. Crittenden: 2003, Mapping Moral Philosophies: Strategic Implications for Multinational Firms, Strategic Management Journal, 24(4), 385–392

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rodgers W., S. Gago: 2004, Stakeholder Influence on Corporate Strategies Over Time, Journal of Business Ethics, 52, 349–363

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Samra-Fredricks D: 2003, Strategizing as Lived Experience – Strategists’ Everyday Efforts to Shape Strategic Direction, Journal of Management Studies, 40(1), 141–174

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schneider S. C., A. DeMeyer: 1991, Interpreting and Responding to Strategic Issues: The Impact of National Culture, Strategic Management Journal, 12(2), 307–320

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Senge P., Scharmer J., Jaworski J., B. Flowers: 2004, Presence (Cambridge, MA: SoL Publishing)

    Google Scholar 

  • Singer A. E.: 1994, Strategy as Moral Philosophy, Strategic Management Journal, 15(3), 191–213

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smircich L., C. Stubbart: 1985, Strategic Management in an Enacted World, Academy of Management Review, 10, 724–736

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Spicer A., Dunfee T. W., W. J. Bailey: 2004, Does National Context Matter in Ethical Decision Making? An Empirical Test of Integrative Social Contract Theory, Academy of Management Journal, 47(4), 610–620

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Trevino L. K.: 1986, Ethical Decision Making in Organizations: A Person-Situation Interactionist Model, Academy of Management Review, 11(3), 601–617

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Van de Ven A. H.: 1992, Suggestions for Studying Strategy Process: A Research Note, Strategic Management Journal, 13(8), 169–188

    Google Scholar 

  • Weick K. E.: 1979, The Social Psychology of Organizing, 2nd edition (New York et al.: McGraw-Hill)

    Google Scholar 

  • Whittington R.: 1996, Strategy as Practice, Long Range Planning, 29(5), 731–735

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Michael Arthur, Dirk Gilbert and Tammy MacLean for their helpful comments and suggestions as well as the anonymous reviewers and the critical audience at the 2005 annual conferences of the British Academy of Management and the 2005 annual conference of the European Academy of Management where earlier versions of this article were presented.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Michael Behnam.

Additional information

Michael Behnam received his PhD from the University of Frankfurt, Germany. He is an Associate Professor of Management at the Sawyer Business School, Suffolk University, Boston, USA. Prior to this he was the Head of the Department of International Management at the European Business School, Germany. His research has been published in Journal of Business Ethics, Journal of International Business and Economy as well as in German top-tier outlets. He authored or co-authored numerous book chapters as well as three books, most recently the 7th edition of a textbook on Strategic Management. His research areas are Strategic Management, International Management and Business Ethics.

Andreas Rasche received his PhD from European Business School, Germany and is currently Assistant Professor for Business Ethics at Helmut-Schmidt-University, University of the Federal Armed Forces in Hamburg, Germany. He has published articles in the Journal of Business Ethics, Business Ethics Quarterly and authored numerous book chapters on international accountability standards. He has gained working experience at the United Nations in Washington D.C. and New York and works closely with the United Nations Global Compact Office. His research interests and publications focus on the process of standardization in the field of CSR and the adoption of standards by corporations. More information is available under: http://www.arasche.com

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Behnam, M., Rasche, A. ‘Are Strategists from Mars and Ethicists from Venus?’ – Strategizing as Ethical Reflection. J Bus Ethics 84, 79–88 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-008-9674-7

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-008-9674-7

Keywords

Navigation