Introduction

Introduction from the editors of the book that brings together all chapters.

Chapter 1. The value of philanthropy - some economic and ethical perspectives from Adam Smith to the post-WW2 era

Atle Andreassen Raa, Norwegian Business School, BI

The aim of this chapter is to discuss the value of philanthropy from the perspective of economic theory. It starts with Adam Smith and the classical economists in the18^th and 19^th century and continues with the neoclassicals from the late 19^th century. Philanthropy has been seen as being inconsistent with the standard neoclassical theory of the self-interested man (homo economicus), which has its roots in Smith's 'invisible hand' metaphor. I argue that this interpretation of Adam Smith is too narrow. Adam Smith integrated moral philosophy into his economic theory and made room for altruism. Later in the 19^th century, the neoclassical economists constructed formal models based on individual self-interest, with no room for philanthropy. In the 1930, some economists saw the dissociation of economics and ethics as necessary. After WW2, however, we see a revival in interest in philanthropy among economists. Gary Becker in 1974 presented a utility function, which also included another person's welfare. In that way, the economic models acknowledge that philanthropy was of value for society. Economists after WW2 also presented strategic and ethical arguments for the values of philanthropy. Finally, the chapter contains an empirical case in order to throw more light on the potential value of philanthropy.

Dr Candice Chow and Professor Nada Kakabadse, Henley Business School

This chapter highlights the importance of executive values in shaping enterprises' Corporate Responsibility (CR) practices. Past management studies often examine organisational strategies and CR practices as two separate streams of organisational decisions. Current institutional norms dictate decision rationality to be grounded in seeking techno-optimisation. Economic theories often underpin how strategic decisions are being made and CR investment is an instrument to economic maximisation versus being an integral part of how businesses operate. Businesses are our wealth creation engines. They draw upon available environmental and social resources in order to achieve their economic objectives, and, in turn have a significant impact on the sustainability and well-being of our planet and our society. Our current environment is laced with complex global challenges such as climate change, social inequality, political unrest, resource depletion, all affecting humanity, planet sustainability and business longevity. Many of these issues are accounted for in the 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs), each having a list of targets that are measured with indicators. Enterprise business strategies cannot be divorced from CR and sustainability effort. Building responsible and sustainable futures in our current tumultuous environment requires advanced values - including virtues, systems-thinking, and complex, paradoxical management framing of issues and forward-looking consciousness. These advanced values permit acceptance of the centrality of humanity and moral responsibility within the business context. Values influence perception and inform our actions. Enterprises increasingly require a more complex, paradoxical management frame and futures literacy in order to adopt more transformative and more proactive responses to global sustainability issues. These in turn require human talent which holds advanced values along with high intellectual capacity to manage complexity in order to build the foundation for s