A Market-Based View of Progress

Abstract

While the concept of progress is central to research in science, morality, politics, environmental studies, and other disciplines, a distinct concept of “progress” is absent from the management literature. And yet, managers are increasingly tasked with blending financial performance and extra-financial outcomes such as social justice, fairness and equality, environmental protection, and political responsibility. This paper responds to recent calls to connect the dots between philosophical inquiries on progress and the usual business understanding of firm or industry performance. Rather than offering a specific definition of progress or specifying normative criteria for choosing among “progressive” outcomes, we propose a market-based view of progress that focuses on the conditions under which progress is made and assesses progress through the lens of those who make it: market actors. For engaging a conversation with the philosophical debates on progress we integrate classic management theories on market actors (managers, entrepreneurs, consumers, etc.) with a multidisciplinary literature on preference and signaling theories.