{"title":"Philosophical Foundations of Hospitality Ethics: Socratic, Platonic, and Aristotelian Perspectives","authors":"Mohammad Shahidul Islam","doi":"10.1111/beer.12810","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/beer.12810","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Inherently rooted in ethical considerations, the hospitality industry faces numerous moral challenges in ensuring service quality, customer satisfaction, and operational integrity. This study explores integrating foundational ethical principles from Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle to address these challenges. Socratic ethics, emphasizing continuous ethical inquiry and self-knowledge, provides a framework for ongoing moral reflection. Platonic ideals inspire a pursuit of excellence and integrity, while Aristotelian virtue ethics offers practical guidance for ethical decision-making. By critically analyzing these ancient philosophies, this research aims to elevate the moral discourse within the hospitality sector and develop practical guidelines for integrating these principles into contemporary practices. The study contributes to the field by understanding how classical ethical theories can address current ethical issues, enhance decision-making, and promote a culture of moral excellence in hospitality. Practical implications include developing ethical training programs, formulating fair and just policies, and creating a service environment that prioritizes the well-being of guests and employees.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":29886,"journal":{"name":"Business Ethics the Environment & Responsibility","volume":"35 2","pages":"555-573"},"PeriodicalIF":4.2,"publicationDate":"2026-03-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147567247","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"High-Temperature Risk and Corporate Social Responsibility in China","authors":"Yongliang Yang, Shijia Xie, Mengmeng Qiang","doi":"10.1111/beer.12812","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/beer.12812","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>In the context of global climate change, this study examines the performance of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in response to increasing high-temperature risk. Using data from Chinese listed firms from 2010 to 2020, we find that companies located in cities with higher climate risk exhibit a marked improvement in their CSR practices, and this conclusion is robust after conducting a series of robustness tests. Moreover, high-temperature risk has a greater impact on CSR for companies that face higher financing costs, have a high equity concentration, or are particularly temperature-sensitive. This study also provides evidence that increased exposure to high temperatures causes a decline in firms' financial performance, and the heightened CSR lessens such negative effects. These findings indicate the importance for both policymakers and firms to increase their awareness of climate risks, with a specific focus on integrating CSR strategies to enhance climate resilience.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":29886,"journal":{"name":"Business Ethics the Environment & Responsibility","volume":"35 2","pages":"619-635"},"PeriodicalIF":4.2,"publicationDate":"2026-03-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147568897","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Conrado Diego García-Gómez, Seda Bilyay-Erdogan, Ender Demir, José María Díez-Esteban
{"title":"A New Piece in the Puzzle: Corruption and Financial Constraints—Evidence From European Firms","authors":"Conrado Diego García-Gómez, Seda Bilyay-Erdogan, Ender Demir, José María Díez-Esteban","doi":"10.1111/beer.12815","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/beer.12815","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>This study explores how country-level corruption affects firm-level financial constraints. We use a sample of 21 European countries from 2002 to 2022 comprising 22,974 firm-year observations. We find that corruption increases financial constraints. In other words, as countries become more transparent, firms face fewer financial constraints. Our findings are robust when we employ alternative definitions of corruption, financial constraints, alternative subsamples, additional firm-level control variables, and different econometric methodologies. As a further analysis, we provide novel evidence that an increase in country-level transparency decreases financial constraints only for firms with lower information asymmetry, higher institutional ownership, or higher foreign ownership. Finally, this effect is stronger for firms with lower ESG performance and firms without bribery corruption or fraud controversies. Our paper contributes to the literature by employing country-level corruption indices as a macroeconomic determinant of firm-level financial constraints for firms in developed countries and by investigating how different firm-level factors moderate the association between country-level corruption and firm-level financial constraints.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":29886,"journal":{"name":"Business Ethics the Environment & Responsibility","volume":"35 2","pages":"693-716"},"PeriodicalIF":4.2,"publicationDate":"2026-03-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147569973","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"CEO's Demographic, Governance, and Career Factors in Environmental and Sustainable Performance: Evidence From China M&A Cases","authors":"Dan Li, Umer Sahil Maqsood","doi":"10.1111/beer.12814","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/beer.12814","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>This study aims to assess the influence of CEO demographic, governance, and career-related factors on the environmental sustainable performance (ESP) of corporations in the post-merger era of Chinese M&A, spanning the years 2008–2022. We evaluate firms' overall ESP by considering both environmental and sustainability outcomes. Additionally, the ownership structure is examined by comparing state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and privately owned enterprises (POEs). The findings reveal that certain CEO demographic traits, such as education, age, and gender, exert a positive and significant influence on firms' ESP. This suggests that gender diversity, experienced leadership, and highly educated CEOs contribute to enhanced ESP in M&A contexts. Among CEO governance and career factors, only CEO tenure positively impacts corporate ESP, as longer tenured CEOs are more likely to implement and sustain long-term sustainable practices within M&A firms. Interestingly, while ownership structure remains consistent across SOEs and POEs, CEO career factors, particularly retired CEOs and CEO tenure, show significant effects only in POEs. Overall, our findings provide valuable insights for future research and policy development to promote improved ESP in the evolving landscape of Chinese M&A.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":29886,"journal":{"name":"Business Ethics the Environment & Responsibility","volume":"35 2","pages":"717-743"},"PeriodicalIF":4.2,"publicationDate":"2026-03-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147569978","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Environmental, Social, and Governance in Family Firms: A Bibliometric Review and Agenda for Future Research","authors":"ChangYi Zhu, Alexandra Simón Villar, BingBing Ge","doi":"10.1111/beer.12805","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/beer.12805","url":null,"abstract":"<p>This paper reviews the literature on the relationship between environmental, social, and governance (ESG) engagement and family firms. Drawing from mainstream databases, it identifies and analyzes 34 pivotal articles. Research on ESG and family firms is still emerging, but inconsistent findings and paradoxes obscure the field. Specifically, variations in theory, region, and research methods shape the relationship between family firms and ESG. This study uses bibliometric analysis to synthesize the literature to clarify ESG performance and its implications for family firms. Building on these findings, it proposes a theory-driven research agenda to address existing gaps and guide future studies. By advancing theoretical frameworks, this study enhances the understanding of ESG in family firms and outlines directions for further research.</p>","PeriodicalId":29886,"journal":{"name":"Business Ethics the Environment & Responsibility","volume":"35 2","pages":"593-613"},"PeriodicalIF":4.2,"publicationDate":"2026-03-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/beer.12805","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147568318","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"‘Clinging Together Against the Dark’: A Pragmatist Reading of Sustainability Conversations","authors":"Barry A. Colbert, Elizabeth C. Kurucz","doi":"10.1111/beer.12816","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/beer.12816","url":null,"abstract":"<p>In this paper, we present a typology of managers' interpretations of sustainability as ‘narrative fields’ derived from a qualitative multi-site study and offer a Pragmatist reading of the results. Pragmatism is grounded in an ethic of meliorism, the belief in the possibility of gradually improving the world through human effort and experimentation. Through a Pragmatist lens we see managers talking the way to better futures: continuously negotiating the big idea of sustainability via their myriad interactions with stakeholders and within their evolving constructions and re-constructions of the relationships among ecology, society, and economy. We find that the contestable concept of sustainability is most usefully conceived as a field of narratives delineated by broad dimensions (discrete/integrated, actual/possible), with <i>sustainability conversations</i>—those that push toward integration and new possibility—as the primary means to move toward living better futures. We conclude with implications for research and management practice.</p>","PeriodicalId":29886,"journal":{"name":"Business Ethics the Environment & Responsibility","volume":"35 2","pages":"744-763"},"PeriodicalIF":4.2,"publicationDate":"2026-03-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/beer.12816","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147569974","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Ephraim Kwashie Thompson, Samuel Buertey, So-Yeun Kim
{"title":"How Important Is Corporate Social Responsibility for Corporate Financial Performance?: A Machine Learning Prediction and Model Interpretability Approach","authors":"Ephraim Kwashie Thompson, Samuel Buertey, So-Yeun Kim","doi":"10.1111/beer.12820","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/beer.12820","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Corporate social responsibility (CSR) has become central to corporate strategy, yet its impact on corporate financial performance (CFP) remains debated. Existing literature, which often relies on conventional statistical methods, overlooks the complex, nonlinear interactions between CSR and CFP. This study revisits the CSR-CFP relationship by analyzing CSR's contribution to predicting CFP and identifying the most influential CSR dimensions on financial outcomes using interpretable machine learning models, specifically Shapley Additive Explanations (SHAP). Based on data from the South African market (2015–2019), the results show that while CSR influences CFP, its impact is less strong than other factors, such as firm characteristics, shareholding structures, and board attributes. Among CSR dimensions, governance exerts the strongest effect on CFP, positively impacting market value but negatively affecting profitability. These findings challenge the assumption that robust CSR practices always correlate with financial success, emphasizing the need for a deeper understanding of CSR's role in CFP and considering competing organizational and financial factors.</p>","PeriodicalId":29886,"journal":{"name":"Business Ethics the Environment & Responsibility","volume":"35 2","pages":"895-913"},"PeriodicalIF":4.2,"publicationDate":"2026-03-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/beer.12820","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147566965","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The Role of Organizational Motives in the Formation of Moral Legitimacy Judgments","authors":"Philipp Schreck, Nils Kruse, Gonzalo Conti","doi":"10.1111/beer.12801","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/beer.12801","url":null,"abstract":"<p>This study explores how individual judgments of organizational legitimacy form. While prior research links moral evaluations to intent, the role of motives in legitimacy judgments remains underexplored. Using an experimental vignette study, we test whether identical positive organizational outcomes have a weaker effect on legitimacy when driven by self-interest rather than prosocial motives. Our findings confirm that while evaluators consider outcomes, motives often play a greater role—prosocial motives enhance legitimacy benefits, while self-interested motives diminish them. Further analysis suggests this effect stems from inferred intentionality: Organizations gain legitimacy when positive outcomes appear intentional rather than incidental. These insights help managers strengthen legitimacy and underscore the importance of considering both outcomes and motives in public policy discussions, especially amid concerns that profit-driven actions harm public welfare.</p>","PeriodicalId":29886,"journal":{"name":"Business Ethics the Environment & Responsibility","volume":"35 1","pages":"541-551"},"PeriodicalIF":4.2,"publicationDate":"2025-03-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/beer.12801","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145891328","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Media Coverage of European Funds and Public Sentiment: A Topic Modelling Approach","authors":"Iván Pastor Sanz, Félix J. López Iturriaga","doi":"10.1111/beer.12808","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/beer.12808","url":null,"abstract":"<p>We study the coverage of European funds by the mass media and the relationship between media sentiment and public sentiment. We analyze 31,570 media articles published across all European Union (EU) countries between January 1, 2020, and December 31, 2023 — a period significantly shaped by the COVID-19 pandemic and major EU funding initiatives —using the BERTopic modeling technique. We find that public discussions related to European funds can be categorized into 11 distinct topics, ranging from project developments in Central and Eastern Europe to employment and economic measures. Our results show that during the period studied, public sentiment towards European funds is generally stable yet negative, with notable fluctuations corresponding to specific events. Significant positive and negative peaks in sentiment are observed during periods associated with successful project implementations or corruption scandals. We also find significant geographical variation in media coverage and sentiment across EU member states. While Greece, Croatia, and Bulgaria exhibit high media coverage and more negative sentiment, Denmark, Ireland, and Portugal display more positive media sentiments. Our results suggest a negative relationship between media sentiment scores and the proportion of negative responses concerning the EU and the European Parliament (i.e., a proxy for Euroscepticism).</p>","PeriodicalId":29886,"journal":{"name":"Business Ethics the Environment & Responsibility","volume":"35 1","pages":"525-540"},"PeriodicalIF":4.2,"publicationDate":"2025-03-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/beer.12808","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145887373","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Sustainable Growth: Unveiling the Impact of Government Attention on Corporate Environmental Performance","authors":"Xian Zheng, Zizhen Huang, Kangqi Jiang, Yuting Dong","doi":"10.1111/beer.12800","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/beer.12800","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>With the ongoing development of ecological civilization and advancing state governance, governments focus increasingly on environmental issues to foster low-carbon development. We define government environmental attention (GEA) by aggregating and analyzing textual data extracted from government work reports from 2008 to 2020, using web scraping and expanding the environmental vocabulary with the Word2Vec model. This study examines the impact of GEA on corporate environmental performance (CEP), using datasets from A-share listed corporations in Shanghai and Shenzhen. Our findings reveal a significant positive relationship between GEA and CEP, which remains robust after addressing endogeneity concerns and conducting various sensitivity tests. Mechanistic analysis indicates that GEA enhances CEP by strengthening environmental penalties, directing financial resources toward less polluting firms, and raising managerial green awareness. Heterogeneity analysis suggests that GEA's positive effects on CEP are more pronounced in cities with extensive digital government procurement. Further analysis shows that the capital market responds positively to GEA, enhancing stock liquidity, institutional investor holdings, long-term investor holdings, stock returns, and overall firm value. These findings provide critical insights for policymakers to foster sustainable corporate practices and long-term development.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":29886,"journal":{"name":"Business Ethics the Environment & Responsibility","volume":"35 1","pages":"501-524"},"PeriodicalIF":4.2,"publicationDate":"2025-03-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145891498","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}