The Italian economia aziendale and Catholic Social Teaching: how to apply the common good principle at the managerial level

Ericka Costa*, Tommaso Ramus

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

37 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The ongoing global economic and financial crisis has exposed the risks of considering market and business organizations only as instruments for creating economic wealth while paying little heed to their role in ethics and values. Catholic Social Teaching (CST) could provide a useful contribution in rethinking the role of values in business organizations and markets because CST puts forward an anthropological view that involves thinking of the marketplace as a community of persons with the aim of participating in the Common Good (CG) of society. In the light of the CST tradition, and in particular Caritas in Veritate, this article investigates the thinking of some of the historical scholars of the Italian Economia Aziendale (EA), by focusing on the concept of azienda, in order to reinterpret in a more humanistic way the role of business organizations in society. By linking CST and EA, the dichotomy between for-profit and not-for-profit organizations and the stereotype of the so-called business amorality that has, for a long time, driven business managers can be transcended. The conclusions imply a forward-looking application of the ethical concepts embedded in the Italian science of EA.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)103-116
Number of pages14
JournalJournal of Business Ethics
Volume106
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Mar 2012
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Azienda
  • Catholic social thought
  • Common good
  • Economia aziendale
  • For-profit and not-for-profit organizations

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