Tone-at-the-Top Lessons from Abrahamic Justice

Dov Fischer () and Hershey Friedman
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Dov Fischer: Brooklyn College of the City University of New York

Journal of Business Ethics, 2019, vol. 156, issue 1, No 15, 209-225

Abstract: Abstract Abraham’s “leadership by example” provides a template for business leaders to implement a tone at the top based on a balance of tzedek (righteousness) and mishpat (legal judgement). The former expresses the generosity of spirit required of leaders, while the latter expresses the sound judgement in conformity with both ethics and enacted law. We relate the two constructs to several contemporary theories of justice and jurisprudence. We also relate the development of Abrahamic Justice in the Jewish tradition from antiquity through Maimonides in the middle ages. We draw insight from this tradition to answer a contemporary business ethics question: Do corporate managers violate their fiduciary duty to shareholders if they refuse to engage in legal tax avoidance?

Keywords: Abrahamic Justice; Civil religion; Corporate tax avoidance; Distributive justice; Integrated reporting; Justice as fairness; Maimonides; Spirit of the law (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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DOI: 10.1007/s10551-017-3581-8

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