In this paper we open up the topic of ethical corporate identity: what we believe to be a new, as well as highly salient, field of inquiry for scholarship in ethics and corporate social responsibility. Taking as our starting point Balmer’s (in Balmer and Greyser, 2002) AC2ID test model of corporate identity – a pragmatic tool of identity management – we explore the specificities of an ethical form of corporate identity. We draw key insights from conceptualizations of corporate social responsibility (...) and stakeholder theory. We argue ethical identity potentially takes us beyond the personification of the corporation. Instead, ethical identity is seen to be formed relationally, between parties, within a community of business and social exchange. Extending the AC2ID test model, we suggest the management of ethical identity requires a more socially, dialogically embedded kind of corporate practice and greater levels of critical reflexivity. (shrink)

This paper examines the business practices of socially responsible entrepreneurs with particular focus on activities that directly impact their companies’ finances. We collect case studies of 30 recognized socially responsible entrepreneurial firms from a wide range of industries. We analyze how and to what extent the entrepreneurs and their companies balance their profit objectives with their social or environmental goals. Our results indicate that the companies pursue profits in manners comparable to those of most conventional businesses. However, we learn that (...) our companies make certain deliberate exceptionsin their business practices to exercise their beliefs, although such actions may reduce profi ts. We also observe the entrepreneurs making efforts to identify situations that simultaneously increase the companies’ profits and serve their causes. Most companies choose to stay private and commit to building an enduring organization rather than pursue the conventional exit strategies. Finally, we find that many of the companies in our list commit themselves to and proactively manage formalized giving programs. (shrink)