Why Wine is not Glue? The Unresolved Problem of Negative Screening in Socially Responsible Investing.
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| Title: | Why Wine is not Glue? The Unresolved Problem of Negative Screening in Socially Responsible Investing. |
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| Authors: | de Colle, Simone1 sd7ua@virginia.edu, York, Jeffrey1 Yorkj05@darden.virginia.edu |
| Source: | Journal of Business Ethics. Feb2009 Supplement 1, Vol. 85, p83-95. 13p. 1 Diagram. |
| Subject Terms: | Social ethics, Social responsibility, Social responsibility of business, Environmental responsibility, Investment advisors, Business ethics |
| Abstract: | The purpose of socially responsible investing (SRI) is to: (1) allow investors to reflect their personal values and ethics in their choices, and (2) encourage companies to improve their ethical, social, and environmental performance. In order to achieve these ends, the means SRI fund managers employ include the use of negative screening, or the exclusion of companies involved in “sinful” industries. We argue that there are problems with this methodology, both at a theoretical and at a practical level. As a consequence, current SRI offerings cannot accurately reflect the values and ethical beliefs they propose to represent. Moreover, the use of a␣priori criteria is potentially misleading, as we show by discussing examples of glue and wine making. Applying this flawed approach SRI funds fail to influence the direction of the firms they deem most in need of re-directing. Rather than engaging in the simple a␣priori assumption that some industries are “saints” while others are “sinners” (Freeman, 2007) we suggest a new framework upon which the SRI screening methodology could be grounded. Embracing the philosophical tradition of American pragmatism, we suggest that SRI methodology could be improved by engaging in an analysis based on (1) the actual impacts of the company’s products and services, (2) the company’s relationships with its specific, real stakeholders, and (3) the contingent environment (social, economic, political, legal, and cultural) in which the business operates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
| Copyright of Journal of Business Ethics is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) | |
| Database: | Education Research Complete |
| FullText | Links: – Type: pdflink Text: Availability: 0 |
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| Header | DbId: ehh DbLabel: Education Research Complete An: 36778521 AccessLevel: 6 PubType: Academic Journal PubTypeId: academicJournal PreciseRelevancyScore: 0 |
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| Items | – Name: Title Label: Title Group: Ti Data: Why Wine is not Glue? The Unresolved Problem of Negative Screening in Socially Responsible Investing. – Name: Author Label: Authors Group: Au Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22de+Colle%2C+Simone%22">de Colle, Simone</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo><i> sd7ua@virginia.edu</i><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22York%2C+Jeffrey%22">York, Jeffrey</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo><i> Yorkj05@darden.virginia.edu</i> – Name: TitleSource Label: Source Group: Src Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Journal+of+Business+Ethics%22">Journal of Business Ethics</searchLink>. Feb2009 Supplement 1, Vol. 85, p83-95. 13p. 1 Diagram. – Name: Subject Label: Subject Terms Group: Su Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Social+ethics%22">Social ethics</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Social+responsibility%22">Social responsibility</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Social+responsibility+of+business%22">Social responsibility of business</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Environmental+responsibility%22">Environmental responsibility</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Investment+advisors%22">Investment advisors</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Business+ethics%22">Business ethics</searchLink> – Name: Abstract Label: Abstract Group: Ab Data: The purpose of socially responsible investing (SRI) is to: (1) allow investors to reflect their personal values and ethics in their choices, and (2) encourage companies to improve their ethical, social, and environmental performance. In order to achieve these ends, the means SRI fund managers employ include the use of negative screening, or the exclusion of companies involved in “sinful” industries. We argue that there are problems with this methodology, both at a theoretical and at a practical level. As a consequence, current SRI offerings cannot accurately reflect the values and ethical beliefs they propose to represent. Moreover, the use of a␣priori criteria is potentially misleading, as we show by discussing examples of glue and wine making. Applying this flawed approach SRI funds fail to influence the direction of the firms they deem most in need of re-directing. Rather than engaging in the simple a␣priori assumption that some industries are “saints” while others are “sinners” (Freeman, 2007) we suggest a new framework upon which the SRI screening methodology could be grounded. Embracing the philosophical tradition of American pragmatism, we suggest that SRI methodology could be improved by engaging in an analysis based on (1) the actual impacts of the company’s products and services, (2) the company’s relationships with its specific, real stakeholders, and (3) the contingent environment (social, economic, political, legal, and cultural) in which the business operates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] – Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright Label: Group: Ab Data: <i>Copyright of Journal of Business Ethics is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) |
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| RecordInfo | BibRecord: BibEntity: Identifiers: – Type: doi Value: 10.1007/s10551-008-9949-z Languages: – Code: eng Text: English PhysicalDescription: Pagination: PageCount: 13 StartPage: 83 Subjects: – SubjectFull: Social ethics Type: general – SubjectFull: Social responsibility Type: general – SubjectFull: Social responsibility of business Type: general – SubjectFull: Environmental responsibility Type: general – SubjectFull: Investment advisors Type: general – SubjectFull: Business ethics Type: general Titles: – TitleFull: Why Wine is not Glue? The Unresolved Problem of Negative Screening in Socially Responsible Investing. Type: main BibRelationships: HasContributorRelationships: – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: de Colle, Simone – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: York, Jeffrey IsPartOfRelationships: – BibEntity: Dates: – D: 04 M: 02 Text: Feb2009 Supplement 1 Type: published Y: 2009 Identifiers: – Type: issn-print Value: 01674544 Numbering: – Type: volume Value: 85 Titles: – TitleFull: Journal of Business Ethics Type: main |
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