Behavioural Business Ethics rapidly becoming an established research field

Due to the efforts undertaken at the <link erim research centres behavioural_ethics _blank>Erasmus Centre of Behavioural Ethics (ECBE), led by <link people david-de-cremer _self>David De Cremer, Professor of Behavioural Business Ethics, the academic world is rapidly accepting the field of behavioural business ethics as a legitimate new research field.

Behavioural ethics is an emerging field that takes a descriptive approach, in which behavioural sciences are used to understand the how and why of business ethics. Since the establishment of the chair in behavioural business ethics two years ago, strong collaborations with renowned international academics within the field of business ethics and psychology have been instigated by the ECBE - leading to several publications that shape the new and emerging field of behavioural business ethics.

These efforts are now becoming visible with special issues in the main business ethics journals like Business Ethics Quarterly (special issue on "Understanding ethical decision making and behaviour: A behavioural business ethics approach", published in 2010), and Journal of Business Ethics (special issue on "Regulating Ethical Failures: Insights from Psychology”; in press) and management journals like the British Journal of Management (special issue "Ethical Behaviour and Decision Making in Management: A behavioural Business Ethics Approach”, in press).

Also, in 2011, an edited book entitled Behavioural Business Ethics: Shaping an emerging field (De Cremer & Tenbrunsel), including chapters from all leading scholars in this field, will be published by Taylor & Francis, one of the top international publishers. Behavioural business ethics thus seems on its way to firmly grow into maturity as a research field.

Read the editorial introductions to the special issues: