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21st-Century corporate business models and the Protestant work ethic

About the event

The second of our Hilary term 2025 R:ETRO webinars – Reputation: Ethics, Trust, and Relationships at Oxford.

Elizabeth Anderson, John Dewey Distinguished University Professor of Philosophy and Women's & Gender Studies, University of Michigan, will be the guest speaker for a seminar hosted by Alan Morrison, Professor of Law and Finance at Saïd Business School, University of Oxford, and Rita Mota, Assistant Professor, Department of Society, Politics and Sustainability at Esade Business School, and an International Research Fellow at the Oxford University Centre for Corporate Reputation.

Abstract

Today's profit-maximising business models might seem to be exemplars of the Protestant work ethic in their relentless focus on maximising profits and productive efficiency. However, the 17th-century Puritan inventors of the work ethic stressed the importance of avoiding business models that depend on relating to others in unjust ways such as taking advantage of the vulnerable, tyrannising workers, breaching trust with the community, and making money in ways that do little good for others. Elizabeth draws lessons from Puritan business ethicists for problematic business models such as 21st-century private equity.