Manifestations of ethical values in indigenous African family businesses: An application of the Ubuntu philosophy

Abstract

Purpose: Limited evidence exists on the application of the African philosophy of Ubuntu in family businesses and how it relates to ethical values, ethical behaviour and business outcomes. Our study identifies ethical values influencing the decisions and behaviours of indigenous Black South African (IBSA) family businesses and explores the manifestations of these values in this context.
Design/methodology/approach: Our study adopts a qualitative approach and case study design and draws on semi-structured face-to-face interviews to collect data from participants in seven IBSA family businesses. The software ATLAS.ti was utilised to manage the data, and reflexive thematic analysis was undertaken.
Findings/results: The analysis reveals that ethical values relate to relational, coexistence and compassion values, which are aligned with the Ubuntu philosophy and reinforce each other. These values are the antecedents of ethical behaviour in IBSA family businesses and are associated with business outcomes, including organisational transparency, employee engagement, customer satisfaction, societal impact, long-term value creation and organisational identity and reputation.
Practical implications: The study explored the link between ethical values, Ubuntu philosophy and business outcomes in IBSA family businesses. We recommend adopting relational values to strengthen stakeholder connections, coexistence values for harmony and cooperation and compassion values to foster empathy and mutual care.
Originality/value: This study contributes to the family business literature on values and ethics, as well as to the broader conversations in the fields of management and organisational behaviour. Our study advances knowledge of ethical values and Ubuntu in family businesses by proposing a new framework through which values related to Ubuntu can be categorised and understood better.