Abstract
Although business ethics has a long history as a core theme within the realm of strategic management it has not received considerable attention in top strategy journals until recently. In this paper, we assess the state of business ethics research published over a 5-year period (2006–2010) in Strategic Management Journal to ascertain whether there has been an increase in business ethics research published in the top strategy outlet. The results of our content analysis reveal that ethics research in SMJ is indeed on the rise yet this research stream is still underrepresented with only 5.8 % of all articles published over the five-year period having an ethics theme. Moreover, the link between Corporate Social Performance and Financial Performance was identified as the top theme during the review period.
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Appendix: 29 Ethics Related Articles in SMJ (2006–2010)
Appendix: 29 Ethics Related Articles in SMJ (2006–2010)
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Agarwal R, Ganco M, Ziedonis R. 2009. Reputations for toughness in patent enforcement: implications for knowledge spillovers via inventor mobility. Strategic Management Journal 30(13): 1349–1374.
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Arino A, Ring PS. 2010. The role of fairness in alliance formation. Strategic Management Journal 31(10): 1054–1087.
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Barnett ML, Salomon RM. 2006. Beyond dichotomy: the curvilinear relationship between social responsibility and financial performance. Strategic Management Journal 27(11): 1101–1122.
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Basdeo DK, Smith KG, Grimm CM, Rindova VP, Derfus PJ. 2006. The impact of market actions on firm reputation. Strategic Management Journal 27(12): 1205–1219.
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Bosse DA, Phillips RA, Harrison JS. 2009. Stakeholders, reciprocity, and firm performance. Strategic Management Journal 30(4): 447–456.
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Brammer S, Millington A. 2008. Does it pay to be different? An analysis of the relationship between corporate social and financial performance.Strategic Management Journal 29(12): 1325–1343.
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Brouthers LE, Gao Y, McNicol JP. 2008. Corruption and market attractiveness influences on different types of FDI. Strategic Management Journal 29(6): 673–680.
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Chatterii AK, Toffel MW. 2010. How firms respond to being rated. Strategic Management Journal 31(9): 917–945.
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Choi J, Wang H. 2009. Stakeholder relations and the persistence of corporate financial performance. Strategic Management Journal 30(8): 895–907.
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David P, Bloom M, Hillman AJ. 2007. Investor activism, managerial responsiveness, and corporate social performance. Strategic Management Journal. 28(1): 91–100.
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Davies G, Chun R, Kamins MA. 2010. Reputation gaps and the performance of service organizations. Strategic Management Journal 31(5): 530–546.
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Delmas MA, Montes-Sancho M. 2010. Voluntary agreements to improve environmental quality: symbolic and substantive cooperation. Strategic Management Journal 31(6): 575–601.
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Delmas MA, Toffel MW. 2008. Organizational responses to environmental demands: opening the black box. Strategic Management Journal 29(10): 1027–1055.
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Delmas M, Russo MV, Montes-Sancho M. 2007. Deregulation and environmental differentiation in the electric utility industry. Strategic Management Journal 28(2): 189–209.
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Ellis KM, Reus TH, Lamont BT. 2009. The effects of procedural and informational justice in the integration of related acquisitions. Strategic Management Journal 30(2): 137–161.
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Godfrey PC, Merrill CB, Hansen JM. 2009. The relationship between corporate social responsibility and shareholder value: an empirical test of the risk management hypothesis. Strategic Management Journal 30(4): 425–445.
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Harrison JS, Bosse DA, Phillips RA. 2010. Managing for stakeholders, stakeholder utility functions, and competitive advantage. Strategic Management Journal 31(1): 58–74.
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Hull CE, Rothenberg S. 2008. Firm performance: the interactions of corporate social performance with innovation and industry differentiation. Strategic Management Journal 29(7): 781–789.
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Julian SD, Ofori-Dankwa J, Justis RT. 2008. Understanding strategic responses to interest group pressures. Strategic Management Journal 29(9): 963–984.
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Kacperczyk A. 2009. With greater power comes greater responsibility? takeover protection and corporate attention to stakeholders. Strategic Management Journal 30(3): 261–285.
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Karnani A. 2007. Doing well by doing good—case study: ‘Fair & Lovely’ whitening cream. Strategic Management Journal 28(13): 1351–1357.
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Lee PM, James EH. 2007. She’-e-os: gender effects and investor reactions to the announcements of top executive appointments. Strategic Management Journal 28(3): 227–241.
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Lev B, Petrovits C, Radhakrishnan S. 2010. Is doing good good for you? how corporate charitable contributions enhance revenue growth. Strategic Management Journal 31(2): 182–200.
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Murillo-Luna J, Garces-Averbe C, Rivera-Torres P. 2008. Why do patterns of environmental response differ? A stakeholders’ pressure approach. Strategic Management Journal 29(11): 1225–1240.
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Reid EM, Toffel MW. 2009. Responding to public and private politics: corporate disclosure of climate change strategies. Strategic Management Journal 30(11): 1157–1178.
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Richard OC, Murthi BPS, Ismail K. 2007. The impact of racial diversity on intermediate and long-term performance: The moderating role of environmental context. Strategic Management Journal 28(12): 1213–1233.
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Sharfman MP, Fernando CS. 2008. Environmental risk management and the cost of capital. Strategic Management Journal 29(6): 569–592.
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Surroca J, Tribo JA, Waddock S. 2010. Corporate responsibility and financial performance: the role of intangible resources. Strategic Management Journal 31(5):463–490.
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Zhang Y, Wiersema MF. 2009. Stock market reaction to CEO certification: the signaling role of CEO background. Strategic Management Journal 30(7): 693–710.
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Robertson, C.J., Blevins, D.P. & Duffy, T. A Five-Year Review, Update, and Assessment of Ethics and Governance in Strategic Management Journal . J Bus Ethics 117, 85–91 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-012-1511-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-012-1511-3