Journal of Business Ethics

Synonyms

Business ethics journal; Journal on social responsibility of business; Scholarly journal on business ethics

Definition/Introduction

This is a brief account of the birth and life of the most frequently cited journal in the world devoted to business ethics.

Description

The first issue of the Journal of Business Ethics (jobe) appeared in February, 1982, 77 pages stapled in the center. It was originally intended to be a quarterly, scholarly journal whose basic aim was described in the editor in chief’s introductory editorial as providing “a public forum for discussion and debate of ethical issues related to business” (Michalos 1982). For purposes of the journal, “business” was defined “in a broad sense to include all systems involved in the exchange of goods and services,” and “ethics” was “interpreted broadly to include all human action aimed at securing a good life.” It was assumed that a good life would be a life generally assessed as good from a moral point of view or simply...