What do you believe is the single most important factor driving up the cost of living in Nigeria?

An international and interdisciplinary group of researchers has compiled a proposal for a new paradigm for economic performance and sustainability, promoting cooperation and ethical behavior as key drivers of economic success.

A team of researchers led by Associate Professor Jan Pfister from the University of Turku has introduced a forward-thinking approach to performance management, offering a vision for how businesses and organizations can achieve both economic success and sustainability.

In their publication in Qualitative Research in Accounting & Management, the researchers introduce the "prosocial market economy" as a model designed to embed cooperation, ethical behavior, and sustainability into organizational practices.

This research reconsiders the focus on self-interest and short-term gains that dominate traditional economic frameworks. Instead, it argues that organizations fostering prosocial behaviors—those that prioritize collaboration and collective well-being—are more likely to succeed over time. The proposed prosocial market economy highlights ethical responsibility as a key driver of both superior performance and long-term sustainability.

One of the key insights of the research is a new framework for success; the researchers explain why and how organizations emphasizing cooperation and ethical behavior outperform those driven solely by self-interest.

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