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  1. Does size matter? The state of the art in small business ethics.Laura J. Spence - 1999 - Business Ethics, the Environment and Responsibility 8 (3):163–174.
    In this paper the exclusive focus on large firms in the field of business ethics is challenged. Some of the idiosyncrasies of small firms are explained, and links are made between these and potential ethical issues. A review of the existing literature on ethics in small firms demonstrates the lack of appropriate research, so that to date we can draw no firm conclusions in relation to ethics in the small firm. Recommendations are made as to the way forward for small (...)
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  2.  48
    Social Entrepreneurship and Business Ethics: Does Social Equal Ethical?Elizabeth Chell, Laura J. Spence, Francesco Perrini & Jared D. Harris - 2016 - Journal of Business Ethics 133 (4):619-625.
    This editorial to the special issue addresses the often overlooked question of the ethical nature of social enterprises. The emerging social entrepreneurship literature has previously been dominated by enthusiasts who fail to critique the social enterprise, focusing instead on its distinction from economic entrepreneurship and potential in solving social problems. In this respect, we have found through the work presented herein that the relation between social entrepreneurship and ethics needs to be problematized. Further, we find that a range of conceptual (...)
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  3.  75
    Small Business Social Responsibility: Expanding Core CSR Theory.Laura J. Spence - 2016 - Business and Society 55 (1):23-55.
    This article seeks to expand business and society research in a number of ways. Its primary purpose is to redraw two core corporate social responsibility theories, enhancing their relevance for small business. This redrawing is done by the application of the ethic of care, informed by the value of feminist perspectives and the extant empirical research on small business social responsibility. It is proposed that the expanded versions of core theory have wider relevance, value, and implications beyond the small firm (...)
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  4.  61
    SMEs, Social Capital and the Common Good.Laura J. Spence & René Schmidpeter - 2003 - Journal of Business Ethics 45 (1/2):93 - 108.
    In this paper we report on empirical research which investigates social capital of Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs). Bringing an international perspective to the work, we make a comparison between 30 firms located in West London and Munich in the sectors of food manufacturing/production, marketing services and garages. Here we present 6 case studies, which we use to illustrate the early findings from this pilot project. We identify differences in approach to associational membership in Germany and the U.K., with (...)
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  5.  17
    The Elephant in the Room: The Nascent Research Agenda on Corporations, Social Responsibility, and Capitalism.Christopher Wickert, Laura J. Spence, Dirk Matten & Frank G. A. de Bakker - 2020 - Business and Society 59 (7):1295-1302.
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  6.  12
    (1 other version)Corporate Social Responsibility and Small Business in a European Policy Context.Laura J. Spence - 2007 - Business and Society Review 112 (4):533-552.
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  7.  17
    In Praise of Involvement.Paul du Gay & Laura J. Spence - 2022 - Business and Society 61 (4):833-838.
    Involvement is an important element of good research and a route to impact. In line with early organizational analysis, we advocate involvement with research stakeholders and investing in the necessary communication and rhetorical skills.
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  8.  25
    Small Business and Social Irresponsibility in Developing Countries: Working Conditions and “Evasion” Institutional Work.Chris Rees, Laura J. Spence & Vivek Soundararajan - 2018 - Business and Society 57 (7):1301-1336.
    Small businesses in developing countries, as part of global supply chains, are sometimes assumed to respond in a straightforward manner to institutional demands for improved working conditions. This article problematizes this perspective. Drawing upon extensive qualitative data from Tirupur’s knitwear export industry in India, we highlight owner-managers’ agency in avoiding or circumventing these demands. The small businesses here actively engage in irresponsible business practices and “evasion” institutional work to disrupt institutional demands in three ways: undermining assumptions and values, dissociating consequences, (...)
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  9.  26
    Toward a Theory of Stakeholder Salience in Family Firms.Ronald K. Mitchell, Bradley R. Agle, James J. Chrisman & Laura J. Spence - 2011 - Business Ethics Quarterly 21 (2):235-255.
    ABSTRACT:The notion of stakeholder salience based on attributes (e.g., power, legitimacy, urgency) is applied in the family business setting. We argue that where principal institutions intersect (i.e., family and business); managerial perceptions of stakeholder salience will be different and more complex than where institutions are based on a single dominant logic. We propose that (1) whereas utilitarian power is more likely in the general business case, normative power is more typical in family business stakeholder salience; (2) whereas in a general (...)
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  10.  50
    Stakeholder Salience for Small Businesses: A Social Proximity Perspective.Merja Lähdesmäki, Marjo Siltaoja & Laura J. Spence - 2019 - Journal of Business Ethics 158 (2):373-385.
    This paper advances stakeholder salience theory from the viewpoint of small businesses. It is argued that the stakeholder salience process for small businesses is influenced by their local embeddedness, captured by the idea of social proximity, and characterised by multiple relationships that the owner-manager and stakeholders share beyond the business context. It is further stated that the ethics of care is a valuable ethical lens through which to understand social proximity in small businesses. The contribution of the study conceptualises how (...)
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  11.  43
    The Forgotten Stakeholder? Ethics and Social Responsibility in Relation to Competitors.Laura J. Spence, Anne-Marie Coles & Lisa Harris - 2001 - Business and Society Review 106 (4):331-352.
  12.  54
    Social capital: a review from an ethics perspective.Angela Ayios, Ronald Jeurissen, Paul Manning & Laura J. Spence - 2013 - Business Ethics: A European Review 23 (1):108-124.
    Social capital has as its key element the value of social relationships to generate positive outcomes, both for the key parties involved and for wider society. Some authors have noted that social capital nevertheless has a dark side. There is a moral element to such a conceptualisation, yet there is scarce discussion of ethics within the social capital literature. In this paper ethical theory is applied to four traditions or approaches to economic social capital: neo-capitalism; network/reputation; neo-Tocquevellian; and development. Each (...)
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  13.  25
    Using an electronic bulletin board in teaching business ethics: En route to a virtual agora.Laura J. Spence & David Wadsworth - 2002 - Teaching Business Ethics 6 (3):335-354.
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  14.  36
    Practice and politics: Ethics and social responsibility in SMEs in the European Union.Laura J. Spence & Francesco Perrini - 2014 - African Journal of Business Ethics 4 (2):20.
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  15.  76
    Assessing social capital: Small and medium sized enterprises in germany and the U.k. [REVIEW]Laura J. Spence, René Schmidpeter & André Habisch - 2003 - Journal of Business Ethics 47 (1):17 - 29.
    "Social capital" can be considered to be the product of co-operationbetween various institutions, networks and business partners. It haspotential as a useful tool for business ethics. In this article weidentify categories pertinent to the measurement of social capital insmall and medium sized enterprises (SMEs). By drawing on three differentsectors, one business-to-business service, one business-to-customerservice, and one manufacturing, we have enabled the consideration ofsectoral differences. We find sector to play an important part inrelation to business practices and social capital. Our inclusion (...)
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  16.  67
    Organizing Corporate Social Responsibility in Small and Large Firms: Size Matters. [REVIEW]Dorothée Baumann-Pauly, Christopher Wickert, Laura J. Spence & Andreas Georg Scherer - 2013 - Journal of Business Ethics 115 (4):693-705.
    Based on the findings of a qualitative empirical study of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in Swiss MNCs and SMEs, we suggest that smaller firms are not necessarily less advanced in organizing CSR than large firms. Results according to theoretically derived assessment frameworks illustrate the actual implementation status of CSR in organizational practices. We propose that small firms possess several organizational characteristics that are favorable for promoting the internal implementation of CSR-related practices in core business functions, but constrain external communication and (...)
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  17.  56
    Small Business and Empirical Perspectives in Business Ethics: Editorial. [REVIEW]Laura J. Spence & Robert Rutherfoord - 2003 - Journal of Business Ethics 47 (1):1 - 5.
    In this editorial to a collection of papers on ethics in small firms, the case is made for greater use of high quality empirical research on business ethics. Sociological perspectives have much to offer to the field of business ethics that continues to be dominated by normative, moral philosophy. The second contribution of the paper is to argue for a reorientation away from the large multi-national firm as a benchmark subject of business ethics research. One important point of view to (...)
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  18. Forever Friends?: Friendship, Dynamic Relationships and Small Firm Social Responsibility.Laura J. Spence - 2004 - Business Ethics 1:3.
     
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  19.  30
    Radical, Relevant, Reflective and Brilliant: Towards the Future of Business Ethics.Laura J. Spence - 2022 - Journal of Business Ethics 180 (3):829-834.
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  20. The 14th annual conference of the european business ethics network.Adela Cortina, José Luis Fernández, Diego Hidalgo, Albert Löhr, José Ángel Sánchez Asiaín & Laura J. Spence - 2001 - Journal of Business Ethics 30:121-122.
     
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  21.  28
    (1 other version)European Business Ethics.Laura J. Spence - 2005 - Business Ethics Quarterly 15 (4):723-732.
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  22.  22
    ‘Like building a new motorway’: establishing the rules for ethical email use at a UK Higher Education Institution.Laura J. Spence - 2002 - Business Ethics, the Environment and Responsibility 11 (1):40-51.
    Computer mediated communication, in particular email, is of particular importance in the Higher Education sector. In this paper, research at one Higher Education Institution on the ethical use of email is presented. Focus groups were used to gather data on the impact of email, on current patterns of use, and on perceptions of ethical use. Using the analogy of a new motorway, which everyone is expected to use but for which there are no established rules of behaviour or etiquette, the (...)
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  23. The Best Teacher I Ever Had Was... Dorothy Hewitt.Laura J. Spence - 2000 - Teaching Business Ethics 4 (1):107-108.
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  24.  84
    Communicating about ethics with small firms: Experiences from the U.k. And Spain. [REVIEW]Laura J. Spence & José Félix Lozano - 2000 - Journal of Business Ethics 27 (1-2):43 - 53.
    This article introduces the important issue of communicating with small firms about ethical issues. Evidence from two research projects from the U.K. and Spain are used to indicate some of the important issues and how small firms may differ from large firms in this area. The importance of informal mechanisms such as the influence of friends, family and employees are highlighted, and the likely ineffectiveness of formal tools such as Codes and Social and Ethical Standards suggested. Further resarch in the (...)
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  25.  57
    Redefining the scholarship of business ethics: An editorial. [REVIEW]Bruce Macfarlane & Laura J. Spence - 2003 - Journal of Business Ethics 48 (1):1-6.
    Traditionally, the term "scholarship" has been narrowly defined as discovery-based research. Teaching in higher education, by contrast, is perceived as an intellectually inferior activity. However, the teaching-research divide is a crude distinction which fails to capture the richness of scholarly endeavour in all disciplines. Drawing on Boyer''s four forms of scholarship, it is argued that academic work in business ethics needs to be reconceptualised in terms which honour and value all contributions. This special issue of the Journal of Business Ethics, (...)
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