FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
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Dear SBE members,
I hope everyone is having a good start to the fall semester. Our conference this summer in Copenhagen was fantastic, and it was so great to see so many there from across the globe. We are grateful to all the people who helped make it a success. This year we welcomed Alan Morrison (Oxford) to the board, as well as our new BEQ editors, Danielle Warren (Rutgers) and Jeff Moriarty (Bentley).
The board is very aware of concerns some have about traveling to the U.S. for future conferences. Our survey at the conference on the topic provided mixed responses, but clearly a significant number of SBE members are at present not willing to come to the U.S. for a conference. We hear you, and understand your concerns. While it was not an easy decision, the board has decided to move forward with having our conference in Philadelphia in 2026 and Seattle in 2027 as planned. The strongest determining factor was simply the penalties for breaking our hotel contracts, which between the two would amount to around $90,000. But the board is committed to do our best to help provide a useful online option for those who wouldn't be able to attend in person, as we continue to provide some level of hybrid conference for our members. You may also know that AOM has announced their plan to hold every 2/3 conferences outside the U.S. going forward, and for now the SBE plans to coincide with those locations (Toronto 2028, London 2030, Amsterdam 2033 have been announced so far). So 2/3 of our conferences in the future (past 2027) will likely not be held in the U.S.
Another important decision which you will want to know about is that the board has decided to move the entire conference forward one day. So what happened on Thursday in the past for the conference will happen on Wednesday, etc, and the conference will conclude with our joint SIMs keynote on Saturday night.
Finally, I want to ask for your help finding new members for the DEI committee. First, I thank the DEI committee for their invaluable help they have provided creating new initiatives to bring more people and a broader spectrum of people to our conferences and into the SBE sphere. I am especially grateful to Marta Rocchi and Diamantis Mihailis for their leadership roles as they step off the committee. Florian Krause has (as one would expect) stepped up to be interim chair of the committee, but given his other responsibilities for SBE, we hope this will be a short interim term for him. That said, would you please consider volunteering or nominating others to serve on the DEI committee? Their work is very important to the continuing success of SBE.
It is a pleasure to serve the SBE as we continue to thrive and continue discussions on many fronts around issues of business ethics. All the best to you and yours.
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Andrew Gustafson, Omaha, Nebraska
Executive Director of the Society for Business Ethics
Heider College of Business, Creighton University
executivedirector@sbeonline.org
andrewgustafson@creighton.edu
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2025 Conference in Copenhagen
At our July conference, we had the privilege of celebrating the recipients of this year’s SBE Presidential Awards. Join us in applauding Georges Enderle from the University of Notre Dame and Florian Krause from the Universität St. Gallen for their outstanding contributions to the field of business ethics. We also congratulate Gazi Islam for receiving this year's SBE DEI Award.
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Our annual conference is where business ethics scholars and professionals come together to share new research, explore the latest developments in teaching and practice, discuss emerging issues, and enjoy genuine fellowship across disciplines and industries.
Future Locations (tentative):
The Society for Business Ethics has traditionally held our conference just prior to the AOM conference. Assuming that the SBE continues that tradition, our upcoming meetings will be at the following locations:
- Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (USA) • 2026
- Seattle, Washington (USA) • 2027
- Toronto, Ontario (Canada) • 2028
These locations are tentative and subject to change based on venue availability and partner schedules.
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Follow the Society on X, LinkedIn, or Facebook to receive timely updates on new opportunities, or check out our job openings page on our website.
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BUSINESS ETHICS QUARTERLY
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Business Ethics Quarterly, published by Cambridge University Press, is the official journal of the Society for Business Ethics.
Check out the latest issue of Business Ethics Quarterly, featuring:
- The Relational and Redistributive Dynamics of Mutual Aid: Implications of Afro-Communitarian Ethics for the Study of Creative Work - Ana Alacovska, Robin Steedman, Thilde Langevang, Rashida Resario
- Building a Purpose of the Company: Friedman and Freeman as Beacons in a Pragmatist Theory of the Firm - Frank Jan de Graaf
- The Legitimizing Power of Contestation: Grounding Global Multi-Stakeholder Initiatives in the Rawlsian Theory of Justice- Adrian Gombert
- Are Markets Amenable to Consequentialist Evaluation? - Luke Semrau
- How and When Ethics-oriented Human Resource Management Systems Promote Organizational Citizenship Behavior: The Moderated Mediation of Work-Family Balance and Moral Attentiveness - Khuram Shahzad, Jun Gu, Rebecca Mitchell, Ying Hong, Marco De Sisto, Yumeng Luo
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Special Issue Calls for Papers for Journal of Business Ethics
More Calls for Papers
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In Memoriam:
Alasdair MacIntyre 1929-2025
The moral philosopher Alasdair MacIntyre has died. His influence on leading business ethicists including Miguel Alzola, Ron Beadle, Geoff Moore and Alejo Sison would not have seemed likely for someone who once rejected the field, as he once put it, for the same reasons he rejected astrology.
For although his final book (Ethics in the Conflicts of Modernity, 2016) praises Deming’s Total Quality Management and Cummins Engines’ commitment to excellence, hostility to capitalism was a consistent feature of his seven decades of philosophical work. The irony of his popularity amongst business ethicists was not lost on him.
But MacIntyre provided resources that better theorise the relationship between professional workers and those who manage them than anyone else, to open up research questions in apparently disparate areas including meaningful work, business networks, governance and strategic management, and to offer a model for writing that appeals both to professional philosophers and wider audiences. His legacy in business ethics is maintained by a new generation of scholars including Caleb Bernacchio, Garrett Potts and Sally Wightman.
MacIntyre once said that modernity has problems with death because it lacks a conception of a life whose tasks were completed. Those who mourn his passing may be comforted by the knowledge that his life’s tasks were completed with the virtues of diligence, wisdom and justice at their core.
by Geoff Moore
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Call For Nominations!!
Each year the SBE membership elects a new member to our board for a five year term. The board member is installed at the annual conference. This year's newest board member is Alan Morrison. The board welcomes nominations for candidates to run for the board. Please send your nomination(s) to Tae Wan Kim. The election will be held in late November.
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DEI COMMITTEE
The SBE DEI Committee is looking for new members: are you interested in joining the committee?
To get an idea of the initiatives and activities related to the SBE DEIC, please take a look at the DEI Report, published on the SBE website.
In terms of time and commitment, we usually meet online once a month, and each member is in charge of leading and implementing one or more initiatives, depending on their interests and availability. The membership is for three academic years, but of course, we offer flexibility if your availability changes.
If you are interested in joining the committee, please fill out this form by October 15. We will assess the expressions of interest at the next DEIC meeting and let the successful candidates know.
I look forward to hearing from many of you and to meeting the new members!
Best regards,
- Marta (on behalf of the DEI Committee - list of present and past members available here)
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Grant Announcement
Thanks to a grant from the Templeton Foundation, the West Virginia University Chambers College is producing new research, new fellowships, and new business leaders who work at the cutting edge of ethical thought. READ MORE
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Faculty Announcement
Rob Mass (PhD Candidate in Philosophy, The New School) has joined as a Visiting Research Scholar in the Law & Ethics Area of the Gabelli School of Business, Fordham University.
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Junior Scholars Network
The SBE Junior Scholars Network connects PhDs, postdocs, and other junior faculty who are interested in researching topics of business ethics. It is open for all non-tenured scholars and especially provides an opportunity to get and stay in touch with each other and SBE.
One upcoming event to note for JSN members: The Doctoral Academy Writing Retreats
The Writing Retreat is open to doctoral students at European universities working on topics related to business or leadership ethics, broadly defined. Participants come from diverse academic backgrounds, including ethics, economics, psychology, engineering, and computer science. Research related to ethics in business (including sustainability or AI), leadership, or organizational behavior is welcome. Advanced Master’s students and early-career researchers are also encouraged to apply.
To learn more about the JSN and upcoming activities, visit the JSN webpage.
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If you have any news, job openings, calls for papers, or other relevant information that you’d like to appear in the next newsletter, please email the Media Director (Tobi) at media@sbeonline.org
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