In der Berichterstattung über die Wirtschaft in China wird zwar auf erstaunliche Erfolge von chinesischen Unternehmen verwiesen, aber mehr über Korruption und das Fehlen ethischer Standards als über vorbildliche Unternehmer berichtet. Am Beispiel der “Confucian Entrepreneurs” wird aufgezeigt, wie herausragende Unternehmer sich um Nachhaltigkeit und ethisches Management bemühen. Auf welche traditionellen Werte des chinesischen Kulturerbes greifen sie zurück? Welche konkreten Maßnahmen ergreifen sie? Welche Schwierigkeiten überwinden sie, um von ethischen Prinzipien hin zu ihrer operationalen Umsetzung im praktischen Alltag zu kommen. Rothlin stellt theoretische Zugänge und Vorstellungen vor. Niedenführ gibt Beispiele aus aktuellen Fallstudien, wie „Confucian Entrepreneurship“ in Unternehmen in China praktiziert wird.

Stephan Rothlin is currently Director of the Macau Ricci Institute and also serves as the CEO and Founder of Rothlin International Management Corporate Social Responsibility Consulting in Beijing and in Hong Kong. He was formerly Executive Director of the Academic Centre AKI (Zurich) and Associate Director and Dean of The Beijing Centre for Chinese Studies in Beijing, as well as Secretary General of the Centre for International Business Ethics and Chairman of the Association of International Business Ethics in Hong Kong.

He holds a PhD in Economics and Philosophy and his teaching and research interests focs on international business ethics and responsible entrepreneurship with a focus on China. He has offered educational consulting concerning corporate social sesponsibility that encourages the business community and society at large to look at honesty, integrity, respect, transparency and responsibility as being an indispensable part of the proper conduct of business activities.

Matthias Niedenführ is Junior Professor in Sinology at the University of Tübingen and Vice-Director of the China Centrum Tübingen. He holds a PhD from the University of Erlangen and was formerly the Managing Director at the European Centre for Chinese Studies at Peking University in China. He is co-founder of the popular discussion and networking platform, ThinkIN China, which brings Chinese experts into direct contact with the foreign community in Beijing to address issues of contemporary concern in a series of monthly events in Wudaokou, Beijing.

Prof. Niedenführ's wide-ranging research interests include mass media and civil society development in China, as well as economics, business ethics and entrepreneurship. He is currently working on a project examining the ways in which Chinese entrepreneurs are developing new approaches to responsible leadership and ethical management drawing on traditional Chinese philosophy. He focuses, in particular, on the 'Confucian Entrepreneur' (rushang) and participates regularly in the Confucian Entrepreneurship workshops and research projects of the World Ethics Institute, Beijing, led by Prof. Tu Wei-ming.