MacIntyrean Virtue Ethics and Institutional Logics – a Case Study in the Confucian Context of SMEs in Taiwan

Abstract

This study explores whether MacIntyrean virtue ethics concepts are applicable in non- Western business contexts, specifically in SMEs in Taiwan, a country strongly influenced by the Confucian tradition. Based on case study research, the findings support the generalisability of the MacIntyrean framework to both a Confucian context and to small firms. The study also explores similarities and differences existing between different polities in this respect, and specifically interprets observed differences between the Taiwanese study and previous studies conducted in Europe and Asia. Drawing on the institutional logics perspective and combining this with MacIntyrean concepts, the differences between the studies are explained largely by reference to the Confucian tradition operating at both the micro-level within firms and at the macro-level as a means of harmonising the potentially competing institutional logics to which firms are subject. The recent weakening of this tradition, however, suggests that increased conflict may characterise the future. Furthermore, this combination of concepts from the institutional logics perspective with those from MacIntyrean virtue ethics is used to create a new hybrid model of the institutional environment incorporating aspects of morality and rationality. The strengths of this model are demonstrated by its use in analysing the institutional environment in operation within Taiwanese SMEs.