HKS Affiliated Authors

Alan L. Gleitsman Professor of Social Innovation, HKS; Joseph C. Wilson Professor of Business Administration, HBS

Excerpt

Swinging between Moral and Market Imperatives. Julie Battilana, 2017, Paper, "Financial institutions with religious affiliations are active participants in the financial market, engaging in various risky financial behaviors, yet existing studies of religion and risk preferences yield inconsistent findings. Informed by institutional theory, we argue that moral imperatives are foundational for religious organizations' identity; as such, the nature of the risky financial behaviors in which religious financial institutions engage matters. By examining religious credit unions' engagement in the risky financial product- private- label mortgage-backed security (PMBS), we argue that religious credit unions shun financial products associated with deception, greed, and excessive value extractions that clash with the core moral principles of probity, justice, and trust that are fundamental to religious identity." Link