Agenda

Ethics in the Wild: How Organizations Actually Learn to Do Good and Become Better
With Prof. Martin Kornberger, Vienna University of Economics and Business

April 24, 2026 | h. 10.30
San Giobbe - Aula Volpato

This talk is based on a research program that investigates the conditions of the possibility of organizational ethics. To address moral challenges, organizations must develop the capacity for moral action. Drawing on pragmatist philosophy and, more specifically, on the concept of moral imagination, I analyse this organizational capacity building as moral learning. The value of the framework for moral learning is in its heuristic ability to render ethics in organizations both legible and practicable. The talk is designed as conversation to spark curiosity, not closure, with the aim to explore future collective research projects.

Martin Kornberger is the inaugural Professor for Ethics at the Vienna University of Economics and Business, a visiting professor at Norwegian School of Economics and an adjunct professor at University of New South Wales, Sydney. Prior to joining the WU Wien in 2022 he worked and lived in Australia (University of Technology Sydney), Denmark (Copenhagen Business School), France (EM Lyon) and Edinburgh (University of Edinburgh). He has published over a 100 papers and a dozen books that explore question of ethics, organization and strategy. Most recently, he has been ranked among the world’s top 2% researchers across all disciplines and fields. He is an engaged researcher who works with corporations such as the global retailer H&M, investment firm EQT, energy giant Equinor, insurance firm Generali as well as public sector organizations (e.g. City of Vienna, Deutsche Bahn, Canadian Armed Forces etc.) and family businesses.