Laura Spence
'Business Ethics and Small Enterprises: A View from the Inside'
Thursday 22 October, time: 10.00-10.45, location: Conference hall.
See PowerPoint presentation
Increasing attention is finally being paid to understanding business ethics issue in small enterprises. Small businesses are different in this respect compared with large firms because of the processes and character of the small organisation.
The main characteristics and their impact will be outlined in this presentation. These include the freedom to act according to one’s own integrity; the mix of motivations other than profit maximisation; close moral proximity to employees and business partners; the importance of reputation and relationships; the rejection of externally imposed procedures and standards.
In addition, it is argued that the sector in which the small firm operates is particularly influential on ethical issues and the character of the owner manager has a role to play. In conclusion, approaches to support and encourage ethical behaviour in SMEs are discussed.
Contact: Laura J. Spence, Director, Centre for Research into Sustainability, Royal Holloway, University of London, e-mail: laura.spence@rhul.ac.uk
CV
▪ Director, Centre for Research into Sustainability, Royal Holloway, University of London
▪ PhD in Comparative European Business Ethics, 1998. Brunel University
2005-2008 Reader in Business Ethics. Brunel Business School, Brunel University.
2002-2005 Senior Lecturer (Research Excellence). Brunel University, UK.
1999-2002 Lecturer in Business Ethics. Brunel University, UK.
1997-1999 Senior Researcher. Small Business Research Centre, Kingston University, UK.
1998 Ph.D. from Brunel University.
Since the beginning of her academic career, Laura Spence has been involved in leading the business ethics field through executive posts in learned societies. At the latest since 2004 member of the Executive Committee of International Society for Business, Economics and Ethics and since the ISBEE Global Research Project ‘Ethics in Small and Medium Enterprises’ from September 2007.
She is also editor at International Society for Business, Economics and Ethics Book Series, Springer and section editor at Small Business and Entrepreneurship, Journal of Business Ethics.
Furthermore, she hold a position as editorial Board Member of Business Ethics: A European Review, and also Journal of Business Ethics Education.
Selected publications in English
Spence, L.J. (2007) CSR and Small Business in a European Policy Context: The Five ‘C’s of CSR and Small Business Research Agenda 2007. Business and Society Review, 112.4, 533-552.
Moore, G. and Spence, L. J. (2006) ‘Responsibility and Small Business,’ Journal of Business Ethics. 67(3), 219-226.
Spence, L.J., Habisch, A. and Schmidpeter, R. (eds) (2004) Responsibility and Social Capital: the World of SMEs. Palgrave Macmillan, Basingstoke.
Macfarlane, B. and Spence, L.J. (2003) ‘Redefining the scholarship of business ethics: An Editorial; Journal of Business Ethics 48(1), 1-6.
Waxenberger, B. and Spence, L.J. (2003) ‘Reinterpretation of a Metaphor: From Stakes to Claims’, Strategic Change 12, 239-249.
Spence, L.J. and Rutherfoord, R. (2003) ‘Small Business and Empirical Perspectives in Business Ethics: Editorial’ Journal of Business Ethics 47(1), 1-5.