Gli investitori etici: implicazioni aziendali. Problemi e prospettive

The need to reconcile moral (or ethical) values and economic choices has given rise to a lengthy and interesting debate since ancient times. The initial statements and ensuing guidelines have led to a variety of very different behaviors. The financial field, in particular, has seen and continues to see the creation of many tools capable of reconciling economic values with moral ones: ethical investments being one of them. The correlation between these two aspects has interested many scholars, especially foreigners, belonging to different disciplines. Purely as an example, mention can be made in particular of psychologists and sociologists who have been concerned with investigating the motivations and behaviors, while philosophers and theologians have studied the moral foundations and economists and business researchers have verified the financial sustainability of socially responsible investing. However, little or no investigation has been carried out of the possible implications for companies. The complexity of the phenomenon, especially in the ways in which it has developed, has led researchers not to search for a theoretical model but, rather, to look for possible divergences and similarities in the different practices, often focalizing on specific and limited points of view. It is quite difficult to represent an overall picture of what can be considered an ethical investment and, therefore, an ethical investor. Moreover, the Italian market of socially responsible investments (in the modern sense of the term) is still relatively young and partially unexplored. The great potential that the sector has, both in quantitative and qualitative terms, makes it particularly interesting. This research aims to provide a systematic reference framework of what can be termed as ethical investor, and what the behaviors that distinguish it are, in order to verify the existence of possible connections with disciplines related to business economics (in particular with the Italian Economia Aziendale). The relevance of this study lies both in the systematization of previous fragmented analyses and in the new business administration approach. A study of “ethicality” and the performance of ethical funds traded in Italy enriches the theoretical examination.