La ética como eficiencia: la responsabilidad social en las cooperativas de crédito españolas

Recently, questions related to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) have taken on greater importance. The European Commission defines CSR as a company’s contribution to sustainable development. In the area of European credit unions there are some very interesting examples of companies that are deeply involved in sustainable development and apply very strictly codes of ethics in the normal running of their business. This paper reflects on (i) the need to take another look at the moral teachings of some of the founding fathers of Economics, such as those of Adam Smith or Robert Owen, much of which was scorned after utilitarianism and rationalism triumphed; (ii) society’s tendency towards post-modern values; (iii) the role of Cooperative Principles and Values in new cultural contexts; and (iv) the specific application of both CSR and cooperative values by Spanish credit unions.