Philanthropic Causes Research Articles

A Case Study of Marcus Rashford: The People’s Champion, a “National Treasure,” and an Inspirational Personal Brand

This case study examined the English soccer player Marcus Rashford’s personal brand and illustrates the transformational difference celebrity athletes can make through social activism and advocacy for philanthropic causes through their skillful use of social media. It employed a textual analysis methodology and drew conceptual insights from the revised Model of Athlete Brand Image to chronicle how Rashford’s social activism and philanthropy resonated with his fans, followers, and the public on social media. His authentic social activism and philanthropic advocacy for disadvantaged and vulnerable children gave the nation a “feel-good” story during the COVID-19 crisis and enhanced his personal brand image. This case study recommends that future analyses of celebrity athlete personal brands should consider including three new categories in the marketable life section of the revised Model of Athlete Brand Image: social activism, cobranding partnerships, and awards and honors.

Enhancing prosocial behaviour and donation intentions through neuroscientific techniques (EEG and eye tracker): Exploring the influence of charitable advertisement appeals

This study investigates the impact of charitable advertisement appeals on prosocial behaviour and intentions to donate, employing cutting-edge neuroscientific techniques such as electroencephalography (EEG) and eye tracker. It also seeks to analyse the moderating effect of altruism, social norms and moral intensity on the relationship between advertising appeal and prosocial behaviour and intention to donate. Findings indicate that negative appeal is more effective than positive appeal in influencing prosocial behaviour and intent to donate. Furthermore, using an eye tracker showed that individuals try to avoid painful scenes in charitable advertisements. This study provides valuable insights into the underlying mechanisms that drive prosocial behaviour and donation intentions by delving into the influence of various charitable advertisement appeals (both positive and negative) on individuals’ neural and ocular responses. We therefore, argue that findings from this research hold significant implications for marketers and advertisers seeking to create more effective and persuasive charitable advertisements, ultimately promoting greater engagement and support for philanthropic causes.

Political connection, family ownership and corporate philanthropy: empirical evidence from Jordan

PurposeA key goal of this research is to examine empirically whether politically connected board members are likely to impact corporate philanthropy. A further goal of this study is to contribute to the existing literature by examining the moderating role of political connections on the relationship between family ownership and corporate donations.Design/methodology/approachBased on the content analysis approach, the authors determined the level of cash and in-kind donations made by a group of 94 non-financial Jordanian companies listed on the Amman Stock Exchange. This study examined 658 annual reports spanning over seven years from 2010 to 2016. Ordinary least squares regression (OLS) is used to test the study hypotheses. In addition, this study used the probit regression to validate those results reported by the OLS regression.FindingsCompared to unconnected companies, politically connected companies in Jordan are more likely to donate to philanthropic causes. Moreover, the results revealed that the presence of significant family ownership shareholding in a firm can weaken the firm tendency to donate. Despite this, the regression analysis results indicate that family-controlled firms with political connections are more likely to engage in charitable giving activities compared to those without political nexuses.Research limitations/implicationsThe study contributes to the conversation surrounding corporate giving and sheds light on the role political connections and ownership structure (particularly family-owned firms) play in affecting donations by firms.Practical implicationsManagers of Jordanian firms listed on the stock exchange can use the study's findings to make better decisions about their donations and other philanthropic activities.Originality/valueThis study is the first to examine the relationship between firm donations and political connections in Jordan, and how political nexuses can moderate the relationship between family ownership and corporate donations. Hence, it extends prior research significantly.

Multi-modal emotion expression and online charity crowdfunding success

Online crowdfunding platforms offer a valuable channel to raise funding for various philanthropic causes, and fundraisers need to understand how to present campaign appeals to motivate charity giving decisions. This study examines the relationship between multi-modal emotion expression in campaign messages and charity crowdfunding success. Specifically, we explore the interaction of two modalities, including the visual modality expressed through beneficiaries' face images and the verbal modality expressed through text descriptions. Using data collected from a leading charity crowdfunding platform, we find superiority of the verbal modality to the visual modality of emotion expression in explaining crowdfunding campaign success. In addition, emotion consistency between visual and verbal modalities helps mitigate the failure of online charity crowdfunding campaigns, suggesting a congruency effect. This study offers a new theoretical understanding of the role of multi-modal emotion expression in online charity crowdfunding campaigns and practical guidance on the design of effective campaign messages.

Resource Conservation: Water Sustainability

Sustainability can’t be like some sort of a moral sacrifice or a political dilemma or a philanthropic cause. It has to be a design challenge." Bjarke Ingels, BIG Architects From tabling the Brundtland Commission report in 1987 to The UN Sustainable development goals 2030, we have come a long way in defining and understanding ―sustainability‖. The UN SDG’s are a blueprint towards achieving sustainable growth for people and the planet. Earth’s resources are being depleted faster than ever before but technological advances in various spheres have increased our awareness and knowledge towards mitigating its adverse effects. Globally it is vital to get the support of citizens to achieve environmental, social and economic sustainability for all the stakeholders. This is a case study paper and the different aspects of a liveable city like safety, wellbeing, security and infrastructure while being considered as necessary for any city to function effectively, the focus of the paper is on water sustainability. From floods in Kerala to drought in Vidarbha and Chennai running out of potable drinking water – the climate change crisis is hinting that water sustainability by integrating the water cycle is the need of the hour. A city which has taken initiatives to make itself resilient, sustainable and livable is Rotterdam, Denmark. The Dutch model incorporates water in their city planning and involves community participation through waterfront development and community welfare activities. Present paper looks into one such attempt carried out by Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation, which has incorporated the Dutch Model of water management by constructing holding ponds. Also significance and use of Bio-Swale is explained efficiently. A participatory approach in planning and implementation will help cities become livable and sustainable.

Neo‐colonial philanthropy in the UK

AbstractUK philanthropic foundations are being subjected to greater scrutiny in how they address racial inequality with their funding distribution, yet the deeper critical question of whether these foundations perpetuate racial inequality in their very ethos, practices and existence remains unanswered. These foundations provide over £6.5billion of grants annually to the charitable sector, hold substantial power and influence over social movements and justify their charitable status by stating that they are addressing issues such as poverty and inequality. Yet many private foundations were built on a Victorian paternalistic model of gracious benefactor and grateful beneficiary and against the historical context of empire‐building, slavery and colonialism which embedded ideas about ‘race’ within philanthropy. Furthermore, delineation between the deserving and undeserving poor connected with these formulations of race, to position subjects of colonies inequitably within this charitable paradigm and reinforce stereotypes. At the time, this formed the justification for the expansion of missionary or colonial philanthropy overseas which was the biggest philanthropic cause of the pre first world war era and which can be traced back as the basis for the ‘white saviour complex’ exhibited today within UK foundations, as they continue to operate a colonial social architecture. This inherent and unchallenged colonial social architecture used for grantmaking and funding distribution imbues processes and practices with the same ethos and principles exhibited by colonialism, resulting in a ‘neo‐colonial philanthropy’, the tenets of which are identified and explored. In addition, as racial inequality remains one of the most critical issues of our time, it is asserted that foundations will need to understand the historical context of the UK’s colonialist history in order to recognise the link with racial disparities exhibited in communities today. This direct connection together with their own inbuilt colonial architecture necessitates an urgent conversation for Foundations about whether reparative or restorative justice is a more effective operational paradigm and the long term solution needed to address neo‐colonial philanthropy or the ‘Empires new clothes’.

When team sponsorship of cause-related messages leads to unfavorable fan reactions: the interplay among competency, cause orientation, and message source

ABSTRACT Research question One general conclusion from existing studies is that if a team spends more resources and efforts on socially responsible initiatives, fan responses are more likely to be favorable. In the current study, however, the researchers tested a boundary condition in which consumer responses toward a team's sponsorship of cause-related messages may be paradoxically unfavorable. That is, we sought to explore when and how ‘doing good’ (cause sponsorship) might not complement ‘doing well’ (performance). Research methods Two online experiments were conducted employing participants through MTurk. The main experiment was a 2 (sponsor competency: low vs. high) × 2 (cause orientation: philanthropic vs. promotional) × 2 (message source: team-controlled channel, sponsor vs. third-party channel, news media) between-subjects design; three specific cause categories (community service, donation, and pro-environmental activism) were utilized as a within-subjects factor. Four NFL teams were identified based on their cumulative athletic performance records. Results and findings The results revealed that for high (vs. low) competency teams, philanthropic (vs. promotional) cause sponsorship induced more favorable consumer responses. Also, communication with fans through sponsor-controlled channels exacerbated unfavorable fan reactions, especially in the case of competitive teams’ philanthropic cause sponsorship initiatives. Implications The current study helps broaden the existing knowledge of CSR effectiveness by exploring the seemingly counterintuitive consequences of cause sponsorship. The outcomes of the study also offer important suggestions for managers regarding potential approaches for sports organizations to strategically allocate their resources toward developing effective CSR initiatives.

Billionaires in Global Philanthropy: a Decade of the Giving Pledge.

Billionaire philanthropists claim to play a key role in advancing well-being and public goods across the world. One of the most prominent recent expressions of these efforts is the Giving Pledge, created in 2010 by Bill and Melinda Gates in collaboration with Warren Buffett. After a decade of its existence, this analysis of the Giving Pledge population and its commitment letters shows an overall dominance of white, male, and US-based billionaires among the signatories. Tech billionaires are a wealthier and younger subgroup of pledgers than their counterparts in other industries. The pledge letters reveal an emphasis on education and health as dominant philanthropic causes. Among explanations for giving, the four most frequent reasons mentioned are a desire to make a difference, a wish to give back, a sense of personal fulfillment resulting from giving, and references to being socialized into philanthropic giving early in life. While the Giving Pledge is the most prominent global effort to increase philanthropic giving among the wealthy, the voluntary nature and relatively modest commitment goal make it difficult to assess its significance and impact.

Social Responsibility Beyond the Corporate: Executive Mental Accounting Across Sectoral and Issue Domains

Business elites influence the allocation of resources to a range of causes related to the social good, such as to corporate community or environmental programs. We extend research on executive influence on corporate attention to alternative causes by showing how chief executive officers’ (CEOs’) engagement in two distinct institutional domains, corporate social responsibility (CSR) and independent foundation philanthropy, are interrelated. We draw on the psychology of moral accounting to refine the assumption of personal consistency prevalent in studies of executives’ corporate influence. Specifically, we show that executives use flexible means to realize an overall aspiration of doing good, resulting in divergent emphases in their CSR and philanthropic causes. Evidence comes from a panel of 677 corporations linked to 309 foundations through 1,109 CEOs during the period 2003–2011. CEOs compensated for deficits in their firms’ CSR record by joining the board of trustees of specific nonprofit foundations, but subsequently advanced divergent cause priorities in the corporation and the foundation. Our work suggests that studies of CSR and of executive influence on organizations benefit from taking into account executives’ cross-domain engagement.

Corporate Social Responsibility Beyond the Corporate: A Mental Accounting Perspective on Executive Decision-Making Across Corporate and Non-Profit Domains

Business elites influence the allocation of resources to a range of causes related to the social good, such as to corporate community or environmental programs. We extend research on executive influence on corporate attention to alternative causes by showing how CEOs’ engagement in two distinct institutional domains, corporate social responsibility (CSR) and independent foundation philanthropy, are interrelated. We draw on the psychology of moral accounting to refine the assumption of personal consistency prevalent in studies of executives’ corporate influence. Specifically, we show that executives employ flexible means to realize an overall aspiration of doing good, resulting in divergent emphases in their CSR and philanthropic causes. Evidence comes from a panel of 677 corporations linked to 309 foundations through 1,109 CEOs during the period 2003-2011. CEOs compensated for deficits in their firms’ CSR record by joining the board of trustees of specific nonprofit foundations, but subsequently advanced divergent cause priorities in the corporation and the foundation. Our work suggests that studies of CSR and of executive influence on organizations benefit from taking into account executives’ cross-domain engagement.

The Business-superman: Oligarchs Justifying Giving in Post-Soviet Ukraine

Abstract This paper examines the self-proclaimed public role of two Ukrainian oligarchs with special attention to how they justify their initiatives surrounding giving. Since the term oligarch has generally negative connotations in Ukrainian society, individuals who are in the public eye and perceived of as oligarchs have a strong need for legitimacy. The assumption is that the increased engagement in giving among the wealthy elite is connected to this need. Building on the theory of justifications and logics of worth by Boltanski & Thevenot and Boltanski & Chiapello, this study examines the donors’ perspective of the phenomenon: How do wealthy elite actors and their charitable organizations’ representatives explain their engagement in giving and their choice of philanthropic causes? The analysis builds on interviews with oligarchs published in the Ukrainian and international press as well as original interviews with foundation directors and employees. This paper demonstrates, on the one hand, an increasingly strong preference for efficiency, systemic approaches and statistics, belonging to the managerial world of worth. On the other hand, reference to authority, responsibility, loyalty and personal connections, belonging to the domestic world of worth, are also important in the value system. These two types of worth logics, in combination with a rhetoric of the inefficiency of the state, create the promotion of a self-appointed business-superman. Contrary to Schumpeter’s thesis of the dying entrepreneur, the dynamic of justification logics suggests that the current kind of capitalistic entrepreneur is highly sensitive and adjustable to social and political changes.

CEO characteristics and corporate philanthropy in times of organizational crisis

While corporate philanthropy has been considered a firm’s reputation management activity, less research has focused on the relationship between CEOs as the ultimate decision maker and corporate philanthropy, particularly when organizational crises occur. To fill this research gap, this study examines certain CEO characteristics (such as founder status and CEO network) and two causes of philanthropy (such as business-related philanthropy and cause-related philanthropy). This study suggests that there will be a positive relationship between these characteristics of CEOs and causes of corporate philanthropy, and organizational crises will moderate that relationship. This study contributes to a new conceptual framework to explore the relationship between CEO characteristics and different corporate philanthropic causes following organizational crises. This study discusses the scholarly suggestions of our conceptual framework and concludes with implications for future research.

Small but Sincere: How Firm Size and Gratitude Determine the Effectiveness of Cause Marketing Campaigns

Cause-Marketing (CM) has gained momentum in recent years, both in marketing research and practice. However, while CM aims to influence consumers on an emotional or affective level, research into the emotional and affective response to CM campaigns is scarce. The current research fills this void by showing that a CM campaign is a win–win–win strategy. Though the tangible benefits of CM campaigns go to the firm and the philanthropic cause, our perspective is novel by arguing that the consumer benefits as well, albeit intangibly; CM campaigns provide an opportunity to do good, and hence induce feelings of gratitude in consumers. However, this effect depends on several contingencies. In particular, consumers perceive greater effort by small firms, relative to large firms, that engage in CM campaigns, leading them to assess the underlying motives as more sincere and then experience stronger feelings of gratitude for the opportunity to donate. Four experiments confirm this greater CM effectiveness for small compared with large firms. In turn, this study offers substantive contributions for both marketing research and practice: It proposes a cost-effective strategy for enhancing CM effectiveness, and specifies concrete strategies for both small and large companies.

Finding the Ethics of “Red Capitalists”: Political Connection and Philanthropy of Chinese Private Entrepreneurs

In China, many private entrepreneurs have obtained political offices in the government. In this study, we argue that Chinese private entrepreneurs who are formally connected with government institutions, compared to other Chinese private entrepreneurs, tend to contribute more to philanthropic causes not only for instrumental concerns but also out of altruistic values. We submit this argument to an empirical test through a secondary data analysis of a representative sample of Chinese entrepreneurs collected by a coalition of government and industry groups. The results of this analysis show that politically connected entrepreneurs are more likely to make major philanthropic donations and, at the same time, hold a stronger sense of the responsibility for doing so. The most important contribution of this research is that it reveals the ethical basis of the philanthropic activities of Chinese private entrepreneurs, especially those with political connections, that has been unappreciated by extant literature.

The effect of firm strategic orientation on corporate philanthropic engagement

PurposeThis study explores corporate strategic orientations as important drivers of firms’ philanthropic engagement. Specifically, the purpose of this paper is to empirically examine the relationship between two broad corporate strategic orientations – domain offense (DO) and domain abandonment (DA) strategies – and the level of philanthropic engagement.Design/methodology/approachThe authors propose that firms pursuing aggressive DO strategies are more likely to invest in corporate philanthropy as part of their market expansion efforts. On the contrary, firms pursuing DA strategies are less likely to invest in corporate philanthropy because of decreased slack resources, rather conservative external stakeholder expectations as well as a firm’s conscious decision to disengage with external stakeholders. Hierarchical multiple regression analysis was conducted using data from 122 publicly traded US corporations from 2008 to 2013.FindingsThe findings provided empirical support for a significant positive relationship between DO strategies (acquisition and strategic alliance intensity) and firms’ philanthropic engagement. However, the relationship between DA strategies (divestiture and plant/facility closing) and firms’ philanthropic engagement was not found to be significant. Overall, the findings indicated that philanthropic engagements along with carefully crafted DO strategies help firms expand their market presence.Practical implicationsOrganizational leaders that systematically target philanthropic causes that effectively converge with important corporate strategies do benefit in the long run by achieving better brand equity and overall enhanced corporate reputation.Originality/valueBy empirically investigating the relationship between corporate strategic orientations and philanthropic engagement, this study contributes to the on-going scholarly discussion on the link between corporate strategies and philanthropic engagements.

Effectiveness of CSR Advertising: The Role of Reputation, Consumer Attributions, and Emotions

AbstractDespite companies' wishes to publicise their corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities, communication remains a challenge. This research study tries to contribute to the literature, analysing the antecedents and consequences of attitude towards a CSR advertisement in the financial sector. Specifically, we designed a causal model, which included the prior ethical reputation, the range of possible attributions, and the mix of emotions provoked by the advertisement. We surveyed 225 adults in Spain who evaluated a fictitious advertisement for companies of different ethical reputations, conveying a philanthropic cause. As a result, it was observed that the advertisement generated a mix of intrinsic and extrinsic attributions and a mix of positive and negative emotions, and the prior ethical reputation of the company was a key antecedent of the effectiveness of the communication. Furthermore, a good attitude towards the advertisement has rewards, in terms of improvement of attitudes towards the brand and behavioural intentions. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment

Celebrity-inspired, Fan-driven: Doing Philanthropy through Social Media in Mainland China

This paper provides the first detailed study of the links between celebrity-fan communication networks and philanthropy in the People’s Republic of China. It explains how the evolution of the Chinese Internet, and especially the rise of social media, has created new spaces in which fans of entertainment celebrities may be induced to engage with philanthropic causes. It then outlines the history of Chinese fan-driven philanthropic initiatives centred on people who became famous through reality-television popular music competitions. Finally, it offers a case study of the initiatives connected to popstar Li Yuchun, and examines the rationales provided by fans in online forums and interviews for their philanthropic engagement. Critics of celebrity-inspired philanthropy highlight its supposedly inauthentic and passive nature. Yet we find that fans actively exploit the forms of sociality that are provided by celebrity-fan communication networks, both to establish virtual participatory communities and to generate social action in the form of non-government-organised volunteering.

Board of directors and industry determinants of corporate philanthropy

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to extend the current research on corporate philanthropy and organizational outcomes by empirically exploring two specific types of antecedents: board of director composition and industry membership.Design/methodology/approach– A theoretical framework was developed based on the resource dependence and stakeholder theories which suggest that the extent that firms build relationship with certain stakeholders is closely tied to the personal and social background of board members, in turn influencing the allocation of resources to corporate philanthropy. Hierarchical multiple regression analysis as well as analysis of variance withpost hoccomparisons was conducted using multi-year data philanthropic data from 104 US corporations.Findings– The results provided empirical support for a positive relationship between the number of female board directors and the level of corporate philanthropy. In addition, the results showed significant inter-industry variations in the level of corporate philanthropy. This indicated that the rather aggressive role of philanthropy in mitigating reputational challenges associated with product-market dysfunctions. Contrary to the theoretical predictions, the results did not support a positive relationship between the proportion of outside directors and level of philanthropy.Research limitations/implications– The authors believe the empirical finding on the relationship between industry membership and corporate philanthropy is a significant contribution to the philanthropy literature. Accordingly, by empirically showing the disproportionately higher level of philanthropy by some prominent industries (such as gas and oil, financial services and chemical) than their counterparts, the authors contribute to the understanding of sector-level determinants of corporate philanthropy.Practical implications– Since board of directors have a direct involvement in reviewing and approving major corporate initiatives, the choice of these directors is more likely to influence the amount of resources committed to philanthropic causes. Consistent with other studies in the larger corporate social responsibility research, the authors found that more women directors on the board are associated with greater philanthropic spending. Hence, a major implication of the study is that shareholders and the general corporate community need to pay close attention into who is elected to serve as director of business organizations as these directors’ background and experience could shape major social responsibility initiatives such as corporate philanthropy.Originality/value– By empirically investigating the relationship between board composition and philanthropy, this study extends the scholarly discussion to focus on the role of the board in shaping the level of firm commitment in overall CSR. In addition, this study provides empirical evidence on the role of industry context in the level of commitment in corporate philanthropic activities.

Celebrity Philanthropy in Mainland China

Celebrity philanthropy in mainland China is a recent phenomenon that has attracted both media publicity and public controversy. Despite its visibility, few data exist regarding how widespread the phenomenon is, and whether it has been growing over time. This paper addresses this gap, using a sample of entertainment and sports celebrities obtained from publicly available sources to answer three key questions. What proportion of celebrities in mainland China engage in philanthropic activities? When did they become involved in philanthropic activities? With what kinds of philanthropic causes and organisations are they connected, and in what capacity? The paper reveals that, in a very short period of time, mainland China’s top celebrities have become just as involved with philanthropic causes as their North American counterparts. The rapid rise of celebrity philanthropy has been correlated with a series of natural disasters and the explicit encouragement of government authorities, offsetting the absence of a tradition of private charitable activities in the People’s Republic of China since its founding.

The Legal Foundations of Corporate Governance Principles - Why Infuse the Muddy Rules of Business Ethics?

The focal point of this paper is to establish how minimal a role business ethics has, or should have, in determining the scope, extent and contours of corporate governance principles that guide international commerce at present. The driving force behind the New Global Economy, as Almond & Syfert say, is international competitiveness. As multinational enterprises struggle to meet the challenges of today's freewheeling, truly global marketplace, governments and businessmen alike are re-examining and re-evaluating virtually every aspect of international business practices. Thus free trade and competitive business strategy has come to define the breadth and substance of international commerce. Corporate ethical conduct, as used in this abstract (and to be followed in the final draft), includes more than ethically motivated decisions to make charitable contributions to philanthropic causes. All business decisions motivated by corporate officials' ethical values, rather than their desire to benefit the corporation in the long run, will be treated as a manifestation of corporate ethical behavior, which also has some scholarly support. The category does not include those corporate actions that, though claimed to be altruistic, are in fact motivated by a desire to benefit the corporation. We however include corporate behavior that, though not motivated by a desire to benefit the corporation, may in fact do so. Keeping this in mind, we juxtapose the norms of corporate governance with the maximands of business ethics of a corporation. Hypotheses of the paper The paper argues from the stand point that corporate governance principles that are to be followed by companies are separate and distinct from business ethics. The purpose and objective of the paper is to establish that outside the norms of corporate governance there exist no ethical values which bind a corporation. In this regard, the paper raises and addresses the following questions: 1. As per the provisions of Section 217 (2AA) of the Companies Act (Indian Statute), 1956 a company is required to give Directors' Responsibility Statement regarding preparation of annual accounts, applicable accounting standards, etc. Clause 49 of the Listing Agreement requires a separate Corporate Governance Report together with Management Discussion & Analyses to be given along with Directors' Report. It is submitted that there exits no corporate governance norms outside Clause 49 of Listing Agreement and specific provisions of the Companies Act, 1956. Comparative study also reveals the codification of Business codes by various governments, especially the United States, which demonstrates how business ethics has become synonymous with legal obligations. Would it therefore be possible to argue that outside the business codes that have been adopted, the company should not be free to pursue its trade policies to maximize its profit? 2. It is a well accepted principle that the Board of Directors and officers of the company is supposed to run the business with the objective of maximizing corporate wealth and shareholder profit. The company is also allowed within the limits of the law to gain advantage at the expense of others involved in the transaction, and that they may do so 'at the expense of others ... does not for that reason constitute a breach of duty'. If there is no infringement of the law per se, why not a corporation be allowed to maximize its corporate wealth by adopting such means and methods? 3. The emphasis on free trade and competitiveness, outlined above, should not however mislead us to believe that practices such as bribery, smuggling and kickbacks should form part and parcel of free trade. These corrupt and undesirable practices are undoubtedly anathema to the growth of international trade and commerce, and as such they are to be prohibited and penalized. However, it is important to note these practices are, more than the lack of ethics they display, are also prohibited and frowned upon by the law. Consequently, we feel obliged to ask the question: What, then, is the domain of business ethics in the sphere of corporate governance? The paper endeavors to answer this last question by delving into the first two issues outlined above, and would conclude by demonstrating that if a corporation's actions confirm to both law and economic prudence then there is no need to dress it up in the language of ethics and values. In short, we argue that corporate governance principles are solely dictated by legal obligations in force and are completely devoid of ethical considerations.