Platonic Business Ethics: A Survey of the Past and a Discussion of the Future

Abstract This paper discusses the achievements, the possibilities, and the challenges of Platonic business ethics. Through a systematic scoping review of 695 articles published in 13 business and management journals, it undertakes a knowledge-stock analysis of the almost complete range of Plato’s written texts that have influenced business ethicists and identifies five prominent ways in which they have applied his work. It finds that Plato’s Republic has had the most enduring influence throughout the history of the discipline and details how Plato’s work has been applied to ethical, philosophical, political, managerial, and methodological considerations. Through a brief reading of Protagoras , we highlight the ambiguity of Plato’s dialogical approach to contemporary business ethicists. We then close with Plato’s Ion , indicating difficulties in initiating such dialogues.