Resumen En este artículo se examina el papel de la enseñanza de la filosofía de la educación en la formación inicial docente, tomando como punto de partida la tensión que es posible notar entre, por un lado, el discurso de la mayoría de las facultades encargadas de preparar profesores, que rescatan la necesidad de formar docentes críticos y reflexivos, y, por otro lado, la praxis de la formación docente que parece tener un acento marcadamente técnico. Ante este escenario, se argumenta (...) para mostrar que la filosofía de la educación sí resulta atingente en el contexto de la formación inicial docente, que lejos de desempeñar una función meramente complementaria en dicha formación, ésta debe cumplir un papel fundamental y, por tanto, articulador de los diversos saberes y competencias propios de un profesor, y que de nada sirve defender el valor fundamental de la filosofía de la educación, si éste no es comprendido como tal por los futuros profesores, por lo que resulta vital pensar cuidadosamente los contenidos, metodologías y momentos adecuados para impartir esta materia.This paper examines the role of the teaching of the philosophy of education in the initial teacher training, taking as a starting point the tension that can be noted between, on the one hand, the discourse of most of the faculties in charge to prepare teachers, who rescue the need to train critical and reflective teachers, and, on the other hand, the praxis of teacher training that seems to have a markedly technical accent. Given this scenario, it is argued to show that the philosophy of education is relevant in the context of initial teacher training, far from playing a purely complementary role in such training, it must play a fundamental role that lets it organize the diverse knowledge and competences of a teacher, and that it is useless to defend the fundamental value of the philosophy of education, if it is not understood as such by prospective teachers, so that it is crucial to think carefully about the contents, methodologies and appropriate moments to impart this subject. (shrink)

Con el fin de mostrar la importancia de la consideración de la "verdad práctica" como un concepto clave a la hora de dar cuenta de la teoría aristotélica de la acción, se procederá a dilucidar el sentido y alcance de este concepto mediante un análisis de la conexión estructural existente entre la parte racional e irracional del alma (razón y deseo) en la psicología moral de Aristóteles. Luego se pasará a examinar el breve pasaje de Ética Nicomaquea VI 2, en (...) el que Aristóteles señala los requerimientos para que se dé la "verdad práctica", lo cual quedará mucho más claro si se lo revisa a la luz del análisis de la estructura formal de la acción que Aristóteles elabora en el llamado "silogismo práctico". En este artículo se abordará principalmente el problema del sentido de la sintética declaración de Aristóteles de que, para que haya "verdad práctica", "el lógos debe ser verdadero". Esto se encuentra vinculado al problema del papel de la prudencia para determinar los medios conducentes al fin de la acción, pero también para establecer su fin mismo. (shrink)

This book gives insight into the ongoing work of the forum on Philosophy, Engineering and Technology (fPET), which brings together philosophers and engineers from all over the world to discuss philosophical issues of engineering across disciplinary boundaries. Drawing on presentations and conversations at the fPET 2020 online conference hosted by the Universidad Técnica Federico Santa María in Chile, the chapters establish connections and describe discoveries that have so far been neglected in the discussions held within the young discipline (...) of philosophy of engineering. This volume appeals to students and researchers in the field, through twenty-four proposals brought forward by leading scholars and emerging voices. Pertinent themes covered are: the broader engagement of engineers in problem-solving beyond the scope of their own profession the exploration of new goals for technology development and the implementation of strategies to reach these goals the need for philosophical content and unique pedagogical approaches to engineering education, digital transformations, artificial intelligence and the ethics of online collaboration in social media critical revisions of fundamental terminology and theoretical modelling of key concepts in engineering design, ethics, innovation and the anthropology of technology. (shrink)

A partir de las reflexiones que en su O cosmopolitismo do pobre desarrolla Silviano Santiago, propondremos un enfoque alternativo al actual modelo de enseñanza nacional, o nacionalista (cuya sinonimia asumimos), de las literaturas, las culturas e incluso de las lenguas. Para ello, procedemos a problematizar-deconstruir la estructura ideológica nacionalista (Anthony Smith, Hobsbawm, Anderson), defendiendo las ventajas científicas y políticas de un enfoque transterritorial de los estudios culturales, lingüísticos y literarios.

Este trabajo se ocupa de una interpolación textual transmitida por sólo dos manuscritos altomedievales en el capítulo que Isidoro de Sevilla dedica al libro de Job en sus Prooemia: Città del Vaticano, Bibliotheca Apostolica Vaticana Vat. Barberini 505 y Karlsruhe, Badische Landesbibliothek Cod. Augiensis Perg. 229. A partir de la transcripción del texto de ambos manuscritos y de la identificación su fuente (un pasaje de los Moralia in Iob de Gregorio Magno), ofrece una reflexión acerca de la semejanza entre los (...) procedimientos exegéticos de Gregorio e Isidoro como elemento que pudo motivar la redacción interpolada del capítulo. (shrink)

The article begins by placing Nicholas of Cusa's ideas in the context of Mysticism, whilst, at the same time, establishing the continuing actuality of the topic. After a short review of the concept of art as an imitation of nature through Antiquity and the Middle Ages, the second part of the essay deals with the originality of the Germán Cardinal's development of the concept of "imitatio" and the relation he posits between art and nature. The third part explores some significant (...) examples of the role played by art and its symbolic use in his writing, with particular attention to the icón of the allseeing eye in De visione Dei and to play in De ludo globi. (shrink)

Summary: A study of pedagogical deliberation : directing attention by means of actionoriented humanistic theory.

Na passagem da Idade Média para aidade Moderna, o triângulo constituído pelosmotivos conceptuais "homem-natureza-Deus" éum triângulo cuja base, constituída pela relaçãohomem-natureza, tende a assumir, diríamos nósem termos cusanos, uma dimensão infinita nummovimento em que o vértice coincideprogressivamente com essa base transformandotal triângulo numa recta infinita. O lugar detransição que ocupa o pensamento do Cardealalemão é, por isso, paradigmático, encontrado asua expressão plena na forma como transpõe parao Renascimento alguns tópicos recorrentes nopensamento medieval: em primeiro lugar, omotivo do homo, imago Dei, (...) através do qualcomeça por ser pensada a relação do sujeitohumano com o universo, fundamentalmente noâmbito do conhecimento; depois, como segundoponto baseado triângulo, o motivo do livro danatureza, de que o homem se constitui comoprivilegiado intérprete; ligado a estes dois motivose estabelecendo a sua respectiva ligaçãonuma perspectiva estética e criadora, o motivo dooperar humano como imitação da natureza,baseado numa nova leitura do que é a natureza e,também, do que é a arte; em quarto e últimolugar, o motivo do homem como microcosmo,que reassume de urna forma significativa os trêsmotivos anteriores e que, reassumindo-os, éreconfigurado numa perspectiva verdadeiramentedinâmica e criadora. (shrink)

Neste estudo procedemos a uma leitura detalhada da obra editada por Emmanuele Vimercati e Valentina Zaffino, Nicholas of Cusa and the Aristotelian Tradition. A Philosophical and Theological Survey, cuja oportunidade começamos por realçar. Os estudos que a constituem abordam a relação do pensamento cusano com Aristóteles e a tradição aristotélica e o modo como essa tradição chega a Nicolau de Cusa, mostrando ecos da sua presença na Lógica e na Epistemologia, na Física e na Psicologia, na Metafísica, na Ética e (...) na Política, incluindo ainda um capítulo especial dedicado aos sermões do Cardeal alemão. A conclusão gral é a de que a inscrição do pensamento deste autor no neoplatonismo e na corrente mística, esquece habitualmente, de modo injusto, o papel que o diálogo com a tradição aristotélica desempenhou na sua constituição. Neste estudo crítico, a par do reconhecimento do elevado mérito dos contributos reunidos na obra, são também deixadas algumas notas críticas relativamente a alguns pormenores, o que não altera a perceção muito positiva que a leitura do livro nos deixou. (shrink)

El capitalismo histórico ha experimentado, en la escala mundial que hoy le corresponde, profundos cambios que han modificado sustancialmente su componente de acumulación, pero también, de forma significativa, el de regulación, perturbando críticamente su forma de gestionar las inequidades, desigualdades y doxas que él mismo produce. Actualmente, la expansión de un capitalismo autoritario premunido del paradigma mercantil, promueve una cultura individual que ha calado duramente en los sujetos ..

Drawing on recent findings, this study examines whether valence concordant electromyography (EMG) responses can be explained as an unconditional effect of mere stimulus processing or as somatosensory simulation driven by task-dependent processing strategies. While facial EMG over the Corrugator supercilii and the Zygomaticus major was measured, each participant performed two tasks with pictures of album covers. One task was an affective evaluation task and the other was to attribute the album covers to one of five decades. The Embodied Emotion Account (...) predicts that valence concordant EMG is more likely to occur if the task necessitates a somatosensory simulation of the evaluative meaning of stimuli. Results support this prediction with regard to Corrugator supercilii in that valence concordant EMG activity was only present in the affective evaluation task but not in the non-evaluative task. Results for the Zygomaticus major were ambiguous. Our findings are in line with the view that EMG activity is an embodied part of the evaluation process and not a mere physical outcome. (shrink)

Probablemente no son los mejores tiempos para tomar una foto de nuestra ya no tan joven democracia, pero sí que puede resultar interesante reflexionar cómo ha evolucionado durante estos años la imagen de España tanto ad intra como ad extra, teniendo en cuenta que siempre va acompañada de una cierta distorsión marcada por los estereotipos, algunos inventados y otros reales pero exagerados. Es importante, por lo tanto, reflexionar no sólo en cómo han visto los demás desde fuera la suerte de (...) la puesta en práctica de los principios marcados por la Constitución de 1978, sino también cómo hemos vivido nosotros ese proceso desde dentro durante estas tres décadas. (shrink)

Female sex steroids can affect the motor system, modulating motor cortex excitability as well as performance in dexterity and coordination tasks. However, it has not yet been explored whether FSS affects the cognitive components of motor behavior. Mu is a sensorimotor rhythm observed by electroencephalography in alpha and beta frequency bands in practices such as motor imagery and action observation. This rhythm represents a window for studying the activity of neural circuits involved in motor cognition. Herein we investigated whether the (...) alpha-mu and beta-mu power in the sensorimotor region and the alpha and beta power over frontal, parietal, and occipital regions are modulated differently in the menstrual, follicular, and luteal phases of menstrual cycles in right-handed dominant women. To do so, these women underwent MI and AO in the three menstrual cycle phases. The spectral activity of the cortical regions for the alpha and beta bands were compared between phases of the menstrual cycle and a correlation analysis was also performed in relation to estrogen and progesterone levels. For the hypothesis-based approach, beta-mu event-related desynchronization was significantly stronger in the C3 channel in the follicular phase than in the menstrual and luteal phases. For the data-driven approach, beta ERD during MI was higher in the follicular phase than in the menstrual and luteal phases in the frontal region. These findings suggest the effect of FSS on executive movement control. No effect of menstrual cycle phases was observed in cortical areas investigated during OA, but alpha and beta bands correlated positively with the follicular phase plasma estradiol level. Thus, the attenuation of alpha and beta bands referring to mirror neuron activities appears to be associated with inhibition of cortical activity when estradiol levels are lower, improving cognitive processing of motor action. (shrink)

Analisam-se diversos aspectos do tempo nos poemas homéricos como sejam o seu uso na narrativa ou a importância da imortalidade. Em ambos os poemas estão patentes confusões entre a época do poeta e a da narrativa, o que se nota através de comparações, mas também por misturas de materiais, ou de costumes. Do mesmo modo, a narrativa não se reduz a uma única época. Seja por uma questão de economia da narrativa, como sucede na Odisseia, seja para explicar, ou justificar, (...) aspectos relacionados com a narrativa, as alusões ao passado são uma constante. Assim sendo, pode-se dizer que os poemas homéricos levantam questões como passado e presente, mortalidade e imortalidade. (shrink)

Tras una breve introducción destinada a recordar las grandes líneas del pensamiento de plotiniano, el trabajo analiza tres modos de conocimiento o de aprehensión que caracterizan los tres niveles de la realidad o hipóstasis. En el nivel de la inteligencia, nous, al que se denomina nivel noético, se verifica un tipo de conocimiento genuino, que es el autoconocimiento. En el nivel del alma, psiché, nivel dianoético, se da un conocimiento de tipo discursivo que sólo en sentido secundario y derivado es (...) conocimiento de sí. Por fin, en el nivel de lo Uno, tó ghén, nivel supranoético, puede hablarse de un conocimiento de sí solo en sentido traslaticio y “eminencial”, puesto que el primer principio de la realidad, que es absoluta unidad, al no tener duplicidad alguna, en sentido estricto no puede tener pensamiento, ni siquiera de sí mismo, pero, al mismo, no es algo inherte, si no absoluta plenitud. El trabajo intenta mostrar cómo Plotino se apoya en el tipo de conocimiento de la inteligencia, que le sirve de punto nodal, para articular los tres modos de conocimiento y para caracterizar un “infra-autoconocimiento”, el del alma, y un “supra-autoconocimiento”, el de lo Uno. (shrink)

En Político (268d-277a) la historia ficticia de la reversión periódica del universo expresa la existencia en el universo de dos fuerzas o tendencias en concurrencia: la que orienta al mundo y al hombre hacia su télos, que es lo más perfecto, y la tendencia hacia el desorden y la confusión, es decir, la puramente mecánica y azarosa. Finalidad y mecanismo las dos tendencias que están presentes en Timeo, reaparecen en el libro de Leyes bajo la forma de un alma buena (...) y un alma mala. La primera es la que da cuenta del movimiento racional del mundo, en tanto que la segunda es causante de su movimiento alocado e irregular (897c-d). En Político las dos tendencias o fuerzas rectoras del universo alternan su predominancia, están en tensión. Y es la medida de esa alternancia la que salva al mundo de la destrucción y hace que se mantenga el equilibrio. Ese juego de tensiones traduce la existencia de una proporcionalidad en el seno del universo, gracias a la cual el mundo es precisamente un kósmos. En el Timeo el equilibrio resulta de la persuasión que la inteligencia ejerce sobre la necesidad, orientándola hacia lo mejor. También en Leyes reaparece esta idea, en X 906a ese equilibrio consiste en una tensión entre lo racional y lo irracional que hay en el universo. (shrink)

O texto discute o apelo de Foucault aos corpos e prazeres como instância de resistência aos efeitos do dispositivo da sexualidade. Primeiro, abordamos a descoberta foucaultiana do dispositivo da sexualidade. Depois, discutimos a análise de Judith Butler sobre o modo como Foucault retratou o caso de Herculine Barbin, tomando-o como estratégico para a sua própria crítica à concepção foucaultiana da resistência. Para Butler, ao recorrer aos corpos e aos prazeres Foucault entraria em contradição com sua própria análise genealógica, pois sua (...) sugestão implicaria assumir a potência vital do corpo e do prazer como sendo anterior ou alheia ao dispositivo de poder-saber que produziu os sujeitos da sexualidade. No terceiro momento discorreremos criticamente sobre a análise proposta por Butler e argumentaremos que Foucault não tomou o caso de Herculine Barbin como modelo de resistência válido para nós, pois o entendeu como relativo ao dispositivo do poder pastoral. Finalmente, afirmamos que ao dissociar as práticas sexuais, os corpos e os prazeres do império do “sexo-desejo”, Foucault enfatizou o exercício de condutas sexuais como campo de experiências voltadas à transformação de si e dos outros, por meio da ampliação das relações entre os sujeitos. (shrink)

En el artículo se aborda la exégesis bíblica agustiniana presente en los libros XV a XVII del De ciuitate Dei. Con relación al libro XV se analiza la autoridad que el Hiponense les confiere a las Escrituras. Posteriormente se destaca el tema de la inspiración de la Sagrada Escritura, como obra del Espíritu Santo. En vista de que en el libro XV del De ciuitate Dei san Agustín da una gran importancia a las diferentes versiones bíblicas, el artículo hace una (...) breve presentación de las versiones bíblicas mencionadas por san Agustín, para exponer la autoridad y validez que les confería a las mismas. Se expone la interpretación exegética de los nombres de los personajes del Antiguo Testamento. Se hace asimismo referencia a las consideraciones intratextuales que san Agustín hace dentro del libro XV, particularmente las relativas al Contra Faustum y sus implicaciones exegéticas. Con relación a los libros XVI y XVII se hace la presentación de los principales elementos exegéticos que el obispo de Hipona desarrolla dentro de los libros XVI y XVII del De ciuitate Dei- Se destacan, en primer lugar, los principios generales exegéticos que san Agustín ofrece en los dos libros anteriormente mencionados. Posteriormente el artículo presenta el vocabulario utilizado por el Obispo de Hipona para designar la labor exegética hecha por él, así como las diversas implicaciones y aplicaciones de la hermenéutica bíblica. En tercer lugar se ponen de manifiesto las diversas interpretaciones e implicaciones espirituales que tienen para san Agustín los nombres de personajes y lugares del Antiguo Testamento mencionados en estos dos libros. (shrink)

En este artículo trato de mostrar la diferencia entre el concepto de tò posón, la cantidad determinada o proporción matemática, válida en el terreno de las realidades cuantificables, y el concepto de tò métrion, la justa medida, válida en el terreno de las acciones humanas, no cuantificables. Argume..

This paper purports toshow that it is not necessary to read the early Platonic dialogues starting from the "classic" theory of Forms. It argues, instead, that it is possibleto analyze them and, above all, to explain the use of the vocabulary of "presence" starting from the more general and prior possibility of distinguishing a subject from its accidental predicates, especially quality. The relation of "present in" or "being in" to which Plato recurs. is inherited by Aristotle. The distinction between "being (...) said about something as asubject" and "being in something as in a subject" (Categories 2) seems to be a"natural" development of Platonic ontology. It is argued that the Aristotelian conception is closer to the earlier than to the intermediate dialogues. (shrink)

En Político (268d-277a) la historia ficticia de la reversión periódica del universo expresa la existencia en el universo de dos fuerzas o tendencias en concurrencia: la que orienta al mundo y al hombre hacia su télos, que es lo más perfecto, y la tendencia hacia el desorden y la confusión, es decir, la puramente mecánica y azarosa. Finalidad y mecanismo las dos tendencias que están presentes en Timeo, reaparecen en el libro de Leyes bajo la forma de un alma buena (...) y un alma mala. La primera es la que da cuenta del movimiento racional del mundo, en tanto que la segunda es causante de su movimiento alocado e irregular (897c-d). En Político las dos tendencias o fuerzas rectoras del universo alternan su predominancia, están en tensión. Y es la medida de esa alternancia la que salva al mundo de la destrucción y hace que se mantenga el equilibrio. Ese juego de tensiones traduce la existencia de una proporcionalidad en el seno del universo, gracias a la cual el mundo es precisamente un kósmos. En el Timeo el equilibrio resulta de la persuasión que la inteligencia ejerce sobre la necesidad, orientándola hacia lo mejor. También en Leyes reaparece esta idea, en X 906a ese equilibrio consiste en una tensión entre lo racional y lo irracional que hay en el universo. (shrink)

Brauchen Roboter moralische Kompetenz? Die Antwort lautet ja. Einerseits benötigen Roboter moralische Kompetenz, um unsere Welt aus Regeln, Vorschriften und Werten zu begreifen, andererseits um von ihrem Umfeld akzeptiert zu werden. Wie aber lässt sich moralische Kompetenz in Roboter implementieren? Welche philosophischen Herausforderungen sind zu erwarten? Und wie können wir uns und unsere Kinder auf Roboter vorbereiten, die irgendwann über moralische Kompetenz verfügen werden? André und Iga Maria Schmiljun skizzieren aus einer humanistisch-philosophischen Perspektive erste Antworten auf diese Fragen und entwickeln (...) einen didaktischen Einstieg in das Thema für die Grundschule. (shrink)

The paper deals with the use of the term conscientia in St. Augustine’s early Enarrationes in Psalmos, to trace the development of the idea of Interiority, and how the word conscientia is used to present the idea of an Inner Space with specific characteristics, and how conscientia’s Inner Space has two parts, and epistemological dimension called cor and an affectional dimension called ‘renes’, and how only God and the person can enter into this internal space, to make an examination of (...) the thoughts and desires. The paper also underlines the biblical references that are used by St. Augustine to define the inner space represented by conscientia. (shrink)

Education is a fundamental pillar in human development, and its evolution throughout history has been influenced by a variety of factors, including imaginative culture and human nature. In this study, we explore how educational methods have evolved in response to the interaction between these two aspects. We look at how human creativity, imagination, and adaptation have influenced the way we teach and learn, from early forms of knowledge transmission to more contemporary approaches focused on active student engagement and the development (...) of practical skills. Our research is based on a comprehensive review of the academic literature in the fields of education, evolutionary psychology, cultural anthropology, and imagination studies. We explore how societies have used imagination as a tool to transmit knowledge and values, as well as to foster creativity and individual expression. We also examine how adaptive aspects of human nature, such as the ability to learn collaboratively and adapt to changing environments, have influenced the way educational methods are designed. Our results show a clear evolution in educational methods over time, from approaches focused on the one-way transmission of knowledge to more interactive and participatory models that encourage exploration and discovery. We identify common patterns in the way societies have used imagination and adaptation to promote learning and socialization and discuss the implications of these findings for contemporary education. In conclusion, this study highlights the importance of understanding the relationship between imaginative culture, human nature, and education. It provides a solid foundation for the design of educational methods that harness the innate creativity and adaptability of human beings and offers guidance for educators and policymakers on how to promote meaningful and lasting learning in today's world. (shrink)

Research over the past few decades has shown the positive influence that cognitive, social, and physical activities have on older adults’ cognitive and affective health. Especially interventions in health-related behaviors, such as cognitive activation, physical activity, social activity, nutrition, mindfulness, and creativity, have shown to be particularly beneficial. Whereas most intervention studies apply unimodal interventions, such as cognitive training, this study investigates the potential to foster cognitive and affective health factors of older adults by means of an autonomy-supportive multimodal intervention. (...) The intervention integrates everyday life recommendations for six evidence-based areas combined with psychoeducational information. This randomized controlled trial study compares the effects of a MMI and CT on those of a waiting control group on cognitive and affective factors, everyday life memory performance, and activity in everyday life. Three groups, including a total of 119 adults aged 65–86 years, attended a 5- or 10-week intervention. Specifically, one group completed a 10-week MMI, the second group completed 5-week of computer-based CT followed by a 5-week MMI, whereas the third group paused before completing the MMI for the last 5 weeks. All participants completed online surveys and cognitive tests at three test points. The findings showed an increase in the number and variability of activities in the everyday lives of all participants. Post hoc analysis on cognitive performance of MMI to CT indicate similar or better effects. Furthermore, results on far transfer variables showed interesting trends in favor of the MMI, such as increased well-being and attitude toward the aging brain. Also, the MMI group showed the biggest perceived improvements out of all groups for all self-reported personal variables. The results implicate a positive trend toward MMI on cognitive and affective factors of older adults. These tendencies show the potential of a multimodal approach compared to training a specific cognitive function. Moreover, the findings suggest that information about MMI motivates participants to increase activity variability and frequency in everyday life. Finally, the results could also have implications for the primary prevention of neurocognitive deficits and degenerative diseases. (shrink)

Este artículo muestra los resultados de un estudio de caso centrado en la puesta en marcha de un programa didáctico en un centro de primaria. El programa constó de dos actuaciones didácticas distintas en dos períodos de prácticum de magisterio. La primera se realizó con 2 grupos de 6º durante 5 sesiones y la segunda con 2 grupos de 5º durante 4 sesiones. Participaron 53 estudiantes. El tema escogido fue la Guerra Civil. Se combinaron conocimientos y emociones. De las observaciones (...) de la docente en prácticas, así como del análisis temático realizado sobre las intervenciones y producciones del alumnado, se evidencia cómo la simbiosis entre una educación patrimonial crítica, asentada sobre la memoria como forma de entender el paisaje, y la realización de salidas contextualizadas al entorno, refuerzan en el alumnado destrezas cívico-sociales. (shrink)

Socially responsible business and ethical behaviour of companies have been of interest to academia and practice for decades. But the focus has almost exclusively been on large corporations while small- and medium-sized enterprises (SME) have not received as much attention. Thus, this paper focuses on socially responsible business practices of SME entrepreneurs or owner–managers in Germany. Based on the assumption that decision-makers in SMEs are the central point where all business activities start, members of a German entrepreneurs association were approached (...) in the course of a qualitative and quantitative survey. They were asked to assess in what way their social responsibility is expressed in specific management practices towards selected stakeholder groups. These practices in turn were assumed to result in perceived positive reactions of the respective stakeholders and subsequently to positively influence the firm's financial performance, i.e. cost reductions and increase in profits. In the paper, a research model is presented that elaborates the relationship between an SME executive's social responsibility and the value creation of a firm, i.e. whether (personal) values create (economic) value. It was found that socially responsible management practices towards employees, customers and to a lesser extent society have a positive impact on the firm and its performance. As such, values can create additional value. (shrink)

Socially responsible business and ethical behaviour of companies have been of interest to academia and practice for decades. But the focus has almost exclusively been on large corporations while small- and medium-sized enterprises (SME) have not received as much attention. Thus, this paper focuses on socially responsible business practices of SME entrepreneurs or owner–managers in Germany. Based on the assumption that decision-makers in SMEs are the central point where all business activities start, members of a German entrepreneurs association were approached (...) in the course of a qualitative and quantitative survey. They were asked to assess in what way their social responsibility is expressed in specific management practices towards selected stakeholder groups. These practices in turn were assumed to result in perceived positive reactions of the respective stakeholders and subsequently to positively influence the firm's financial performance, i.e. cost reductions and increase in profits. In the paper, a research model is presented that elaborates the relationship between an SME executive's social responsibility and the value creation of a firm, i.e. whether (personal) values create (economic) value. It was found that socially responsible management practices towards employees, customers and to a lesser extent society have a positive impact on the firm and its performance. As such, values can create additional value. (shrink)