Entrepreneurship and pure altruism: Reconciling the irreconcilable? Evidence from a New Zealand mail-order firm

Abstract

This article examines the existence of altruism in the formation of a firm and argues that altruism can coexist with the most demanding form of capitalism: Schumpeterian creative destruction. Moreover, pure altruism is seen to be a precursor to the accumulation of capital, not an event ex post. Such a notion suggests a re-examination of views of altruistic behaviour wherein altruism is reduced purely to variant forms of self-interest and reciprocity.