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The Challenge of Developing a Business Ethics in China

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Abstract

The challenge of developing a business ethics in China in response to today’s increasing demands of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is examined within the context of recent business scandals, food scare, labor issues, and environmental degradations the country is now experiencing. Two surveys on CSR are reported. This paper reports the recent CSR development in China and outlines the profile of a prospective business ethics for China. The formal constraints and substantive components of this business ethics are proposed against the background of China’s cultural and ideological heritage.

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Acknowledgments

The author thanks the two reviewers for their helpful comments. Also, the author has also benefited from comments of colleagues from Baptist University, Nottingham University, Lingnan University, and the Norwegian School of Management where portions of this paper were read.

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Correspondence to Po Keung Ip.

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Ip, P.K. The Challenge of Developing a Business Ethics in China. J Bus Ethics 88 (Suppl 1), 211–224 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-008-9820-2

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