Title: The North-South divide in business leaders' moral sentiment: a problem for global sustainability?

Authors: David A.L. Coldwell

Addresses: School of Economic and Business Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3 Wits 2050, Johannesburg, South Africa

Abstract: A North-South divide exists in terms of the correct balance between socio-economic and political behaviour that emphasises ecocentric, environmentally conservationist policies over anthropocentric policies that favour economic growth and the provision of basic human needs, whether they are environmentally friendly or not. However, in addition to the North-South ecocentric/anthropocentric divide, there are key differences in moral values. The North, broadly speaking being more individualistic in orientation and the South, particularly Africa, being more communalistic in orientation. The paper describes the development of a theoretical model of anthropocentric and ecocentric orientation that takes account of both the North-South divide in leader moral sentiment and extant pressures for economic development vis a vis environmental preservation. The paper uses secondary data to highlight differences of moral sentiment between the North and the South and analyses these aspects with the use of an exploratory model of ecocentric and anthropocentric orientations.

Keywords: North-South divide; climate; anthropocenteric; ecocentric; moral sentiment; sustainability.

DOI: 10.1504/IJISD.2022.123836

International Journal of Innovation and Sustainable Development, 2022 Vol.16 No.3/4, pp.285 - 296

Received: 28 Mar 2020
Accepted: 05 Aug 2021
Published online: 04 Jul 2022 *

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