Business Ethics Department

Head: Joan Fontrodona

Business is not merely a realm for profit maximizing; it is also a human reality. As such, human excellence can manifest itself in the decisions and conduct of individuals and organizations.

Our Department of Business Ethics is committed to highlighting ethics as essential to and at the core of business activity and decision-making. The complexities of a global and dynamic business world, where non-economic and economic concerns coexist, give ethics a vital role in guiding human action, always with the potential for human excellence in mind.

Founded within the framework of IESE’s mission to serve society, especially the business world, the department is committed to training future managers to consider business ethics in their analysis of business problems.

Coursework includes Leading Organizations: Systems, Values and Ethics, Christian Anthropology, Christian Humanism and Business Culture and Social and Political Ideas for Business.

Through their research, the department’s faculty is bringing the most recent and influential ideas in business ethics to the academic and business community. Some of their findings have been published in books and prestigious journals such as The Journal of Business Ethics and Business and Society Review.

Conferences

We have pioneered the organization of conferences and forums in the field such as The International Symposium on Business, Ethics and Society, with more than 20 editions, and the Humanizing the Firm and the Management Profession workshop.

In addition, faculty members regularly participate in the following conferences:

  • European Business Ethics Network (EBEN)
  • Society for Business Ethics (SBE)
  • International Society of Business, Economics and Ethics (ISBEE)
  • International Symposia on Catholic Social Thought and Management Education
  • Corporate government regulation
  • Performance appraisal systems & incentive systems
  • Pricing policies and product profitability: activity-based costing

Areas of expertise

  • Ethical foundations of management
  • The role of business in society
  • Corporate social responsibility
  • Ethics and decision-making
  • Humanism in organizational cultures
  • Corporate corruption and fraud

Head.

Joan Fontrodona

Joan Fontrodona

Professor

Business Ethics and Analysis of Business Problems

Full time.

Ricardo Calleja

Ricardo Calleja

Lecturer

Business Ethics
Pablo Sanz

Pablo Sanz

Assistant Professor

Business Ethics
Antonino Vaccaro

Antonino Vaccaro

Professor

Business Ethics and Negotiation Teaching Unit

Emeritus.

Antonio Argandoña

Antonio Argandoña

Professor Emeritus

Economics and Business Ethics
Domènec Melé

Domènec Melé

Professor Emeritus

Business Ethics
José Ramón Pin Arboledas

José Ramón Pin Arboledas

Professor Emeritus

Managing People in Organizations and Business Ethics
Juan Carlos Vázquez-Dodero

Juan Carlos Vázquez-Dodero

Professor Emeritus

Accounting and Control and Business Ethics

External collaborators.

Oscar González-Peralta

Oscar González-Peralta

Senior Lecturer

Business Ethics
José Luis Illueca

José Luis Illueca

Senior Lecturer

Business Ethics and Analysis of Business Problems
Jorge Mitsuru

Jorge Mitsuru

Senior Lecturer

Managing People in Organizations and Business Ethics

Former collaborators.

Maximilian B. Torres

Maximilian B. Torres

Former Collaborator

Managing People in Organizations and Business Ethics

Publications

Journal Articles (refereed)

FIORAVANTE, R., VACCARO, A., DEL BALDO , M. (2025). Integral human development through culture. The Olivetti blueprint for unleashing creative forces, business ethics, the environment and responsibility. Business Ethics, the Environment & Responsibility. doi:10.1111/beer.12807. (Online first) ARIAS, D., MELÉ, D. (2025). Moral specification of gift giving in business. A typology from a “first‐person” judgment. Business and Society Review, 130 (1), 18-41. doi:10.1111/basr.70001. FIORAVANTE, R., VACCARO, A. (2024). Personalism in generative AI deployment. Deciding ethically when human creative expression is at stake. Humanistic Management Journal. doi:10.1007/s41463-024-00193-9. (Online first)

Working Papers

ARGANDOÑA, A. (2019). ¿Es la paciencia una virtud apropiada para un directivo? (WP-1227). Barcelona: IESE. ARGANDOÑA, A. (2018). Oeconomicae et Pecuniariae Quaestiones: una reflexión desde la economía (WP-1208). Barcelona: IESE. ARGANDOÑA, A. (2017). El hogar: próposito, función, trabajo y cuidado (WP-1182). Barcelona: IESE.

Proceedings

VELMER, S., RAMUS, T., VACCARO, A. (2023). Union with diverging goals. How collaboration unfolds if partners are driven by heterogeneous logics. In Academy of Management (Ed.), Academy of Management Proceedings. VELMER, S., RAMUS, T., VACCARO, A. (2023). Leveraging Ethical Claims for Nonethical Purposes. In Academy of Management Annual Meeting (Ed.), Academy of Management Annual Meeting Proceedings. MONGELLI, L., RULLANI, F., VACCARO, A., VERSARI, P. (2020). Social business hybrids' diversification. Effects on socioeconomic combined performance. Academy of Management Proceedings.

Books

MELÉ, D. (2025). Fundamentos para una empresa humanista centrada en la persona: Pensando en la compañía mercantil del futuro. Barañáin: EUNSA. Ediciones Universidad de Navarra. MELÉ, D. (2024). The Humanistic person-centered company. Conceptual foundations. Cham: Springer International Publishing. VACCARO, A. (2022). Compliance beyond compliance. Managing organizations with integrity. Madrid: McGraw Hill.

Edited books

VACCARO, A., RAMUS, T. (2022). Social innovation and social enterprises. Toward a holistic perspective. Cham: Springer International Publishing. SCHLAG, M., MELÉ, D. (2019). A Catholic Spirituality for Business: The Logic of Gift. Washington, D.C.: The Catholic University of America Press. MELÉ, D., SCHLAG, M. (2015). Humanism in Economics and Business. Perspectives of the Catholic Social Tradition. Dordrecht: Springer Netherlands.

Book Chapters

MELÉ, D. (2024). La subjetividad de la persona en la acción emprendedora. En Fité, R.M.; Nueno, P.; Mehta, K. and Vilà, J. (Eds.), Primero las personas: pensamiento emprendedor para resolver problemas empresariales (pp. 35-42). Barcelona: Gestión 2000. ARGANDOÑA, A. (2024). La empresa es una communidad de personas. En R.M. Fité, P. Nueno, K. Mehta, and J. Vilà (Eds.), Primero las personas: pensamiento emprendedor para resolver problemas empresariales (pp. 43-52). Barcelona: Gestión 2000. MELÉ, D. (2024). Supremacía de la dimensión subjetiva del trabajo. En Fité, R.M.; Nueno, P. ; Mehta, K. and Vilà, J. (Eds.), Primero las personas: pensamiento emprendedor para resolver problemas emrpesariales (pp. 273-290). Barcelona: Gestión 2000.

Non-refereed articles

FIORAVANTE, R., VACCARO, A. (2024). La ética en las decisiones empresariales del futuro. Harvard Deusto Business Review (350), pp. 66-70. GKEREDAKIS, M. (2024). Ethics in action. IESE Business School Insight (168), pp. 56-63. GKEREDAKIS, M. (2024). La decisión correcta. IESE Business School Insight (168), pp. 56-63.

Studies

FONTRODONA, J., MARTÍNEZ, B. (2025). El modelo cooperativo ante los retos del siglo XXI: Panorama en el Año Internacional de las Cooperativas 2025. IESE. FONTRODONA, J., MARTÍNEZ, B. (2025). La sostenibilidad del sector alimentario como palanca de cambio para los desafíos globales: una visión desde la Unión Europea. IESE. FONTRODONA, J., MARTÍNEZ, B. (2025). Greenwashing: un marco normativo para reforzar la confianza en las empresas. Cuaderno nº 63. IESE.

Cases

VACCARO, A., ANTONELLI, G., FIORAVANTE, R. (2025). Dealing with AI. Loneliness, manipulations and suicides. IESE, BE-227-E. ARIAS PADILLA, D., FONTRODONA, J. (2024). Gavi the Vaccin Alliance - Fundación "la Caixa": La Alianza para la Vacunación Infantil. IESE, BE-225. ARIAS PADILLA, D., FONTRODONA, J. (2024). Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance-"la Caixa" Foundation: the Alliance for Childhood Vaccination. IESE, BE-225-E.

Technical Notes

VACCARO, A., GONZÁLEZ-PERALTA, O. (2025). Who picks up the errors of artificial intelligence? IESE, BEN-167-E. GONZÁLEZ-PERALTA, O. (2024). Los cuatro componentes del comportamiento ético. IESE, BEN-156. GONZÁLEZ-PERALTA, O. (2024). Four components of ethical behavior. IESE, BEN-156-E.

Outputs in other media

CALIGIURI, M., VACCARO, A. (2020). Responsabilità e disfattismo, cosa dobbiamo all’Italia. Il commento di Caligiuri e Vaccaro. Formiche. VACCARO, A., CALIGIURI, M. (2020). Here Is Why Covid-Driven Virtual Opportunities In Academia Can Open Up Education. Forbes. FONTRODONA, J. (2020). Retour au travail: le temps de l'incertitude. Les Echos.