“There’s Life in the Old Dog Yet”: The Homo economicus model and its value for behavioral ethics

Philipp Schreck (), Dominik Aaken and Karl Homann
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Philipp Schreck: Martin-Luther-University Halle-Wittenberg
Dominik Aaken: University of Salzburg
Karl Homann: Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich

Journal of Business Economics, 2020, vol. 90, issue 3, No 3, 425 pages

Abstract: Abstract The Homo economicus model (HEM) is widely used in the social sciences in general and in business ethics in particular. Despite its success, the model is frequently criticized for being empirically flawed and normatively dangerous, and its critics argue that it should be abandoned and replaced by more realistic models of human behavior. In response to the HEM’s critics, this paper develops a precise methodological approach that makes it possible to integrate within the HEM seemingly contradictory empirical evidence. Using the methodology we develop, we will integrate recent findings in behavioral economics and show how a rational-choice approach to behavioral ethics can illuminate the emergence, salience and persistence of morality.

Keywords: Behavioral economics; Behavioral ethics; Business ethics; Dilemma structure; Cooperation; Homo economicus; Methodology; Rational-choice; A12; B41; D01; D9 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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DOI: 10.1007/s11573-019-00964-z

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