Gazelle (2000) notes that in the 1990s, corporate leaders emerged
who thought that "ethical behavior", even on a voluntary basis, could be profitable and could
increase market shares for companies that exhibited in this behavior (rather than unethical
behavior) toward their various stakeholders. ―The Caux Round Table‖, which was formed in
1986 by multinational companies, produced a draft called "The Caux Principles," which
asserts that the accountability of business embraces all of its stakeholders (i.e., local, national,
regional and global communities, competitors, consumers, customers, employees, suppliers
and, of course, shareholders).
However, some cases seem to contradict the logic that acting ethically generates more
stable companies in the long term. Mayer (2001) argued that even the sense of social
responsibility is affected over time by the pursuit of profit, and ethical standards cannot come
from "the market," which does not incorporate non-economic aspects into its assessment of
companies. This view contrasts with Moss‘ (2002) observation that multinational companies
that do business around the world realize the need to consider the ethical management of their
businesses in their country of origin and anywhere they do business or maintain offices. Little
is said in the literature about companies that are isolated from foreign influences in the matter
of ethics or companies that are in industries of non-tradable goods. For these reasons, we have
chosen to focus on the retailing industry, specifically supermarkets,2
in Chile.