Johannes Brinkmann studied sociology (and secondary subjects) at the universities of Münster, W. Germany and Oslo, Norway. Academic work in Norway and for more limited periods in the US, Germany, Lithuania etc. At present 11 academic books (mostly in Norwegian), 43 academic articles (mostly in English), in addition numerous conference papers, book chapters, industry and professional journal papers.
Until 2016, Brinkmann was head of the former BI Centre for risk and insurance research (ROFF). 2016-2019 he was adjunct professor at the Arctic University of Norway in Tromsø.
Research areas Business ethics with subspecialties, descriptive ethics, industry and business-professional ethics, marketing and consumer ethics. Comparative social science. More recently focus on insurance industry ethics, dialectics of risk and responsibility, socratic dialogue.
Teaching areas
Business ethics, risk management, sociology for business students, social science methodology.
This study delves into the significant ethical criteria in the context of global standards. It addresses the moral wrongdoings and adverse side effects associated with global value chains as discussed in the business ethics literature. The methodology involves theoretical application and synthesis. The study employs ethical principles from deontology, consequentialism, and political cosmopolitanism to establish normative criteria such as “injustice and harm to others” and “bad outcomes.” It further investigates how these criteria should influence consumers' decisions, actions, and responsibilities. These criteria are then used to examine the moral wrongdoings and negative effects mentioned in global standards. The study explores how global standards implicitly express consumers' roles in governing global value chains. It scrutinizes consumers' actions and decisions by applying ethical frameworks to global standards. The study outlines consumers' individual and political responsibilities in achieving the goals of global standards. The research findings have implications for governments, consumers, and organizations in practicing shared responsibility. The aim of this research is to provide normative guidance for responsible actions.
Bakken, Tore & Brinkmann, Johannes (2022)
Krise, risiko og uvisshet. Sosiologiske refleksjoner
Lindemann, Beate Hildegard & Brinkmann, Johannes (2022)
Per Mausklick in Berlin - Digitale Zugänglichkeit im Spagat zwischen Potential und DaF-Lehrer-Alltag
, s. 153- 170.
Brinkmann, Johannes & Kochupillai, Mrinalini (2020)
After a selective review of relevant literature about teaching business ethics, this paper builds on a summary of Fred Bird’s thoughts about the voicing of moral concerns provided in his book about moral muteness (1996). Socratic dialogue methodology (in the tradition of L. Nelson and G. Heckmann) is then presented and the use of this methodology is examined, for business ethics teaching in general, and for addressing our paper topic in particular. Three short form Socratic dialogues about the paper topic are summarized for illustration, together with preparation and debriefing suggestions for a Socratic dialogue unit as part of a business ethics course. In conclusion, Socratic dialogue design is related to the experiential learning approach, and characterized by a few basic traits, which imply both risks and opportunities for business ethics teaching.
Brinkmann, Johannes (2015)
Socratic dialogue – designed in the Nelson–Heckmann tradition: A tool for reducing the theory–practice divide in business ethics
Microinsurance is the provision of insurance services to the poor, usually in developing countries. One of the key criteria of poverty is vulnerability even to minor events. In such cases even micro coverage can make a major difference, yet still be funded by an affordable contribution by the insured. Like any kind of insurance, microinsurance can cover different risks to life, health, farming, property among other things. Our paper sketches how one could address and develop microinsurance business ethics. First we introduce microinsurance to the business ethics community and business ethics to the microinsurance community. Our draft of microinsurance ethics is then developed from two angles: as a holistic understanding of ideals and possible ethical conflicts in key stakeholder relationships and by distinguishing eight challenges when targeting the poor and when marketing microinsurance. As an open ending, the paper suggests a three stage action research design focusing on how microinsurance could (and should) internalize ethics, respecting rather than neglecting national-cultural and local-cultural conditions.
Brinkmann, Johannes (2012)
Inconvenient Business Ethics (version 2)
, s. 79- 92.
Lesch, William C. & Brinkmann, Johannes (2012)
Consumer insurance fraud/abuse as co-creation and co-responsibility: A new paradigm
Insurance fraud and abuse—international concerns—are inherent in the proposition of insurance and prevalent in insurer-insured interactions. While the subject of considerable industry and regulatory attention, this little-researched area of consumer behavior and consumer ethics represents persistent social policy questions and problems at multiple levels. This paper addresses the issue by first defining insurance fraud and its origins in contract, as well as consumer- and insurer-management. The authors conclude by re-envisioning the problem as one of co-creation by the consumer-insured and insurer personnel, proposing a framework for its study and resolution.
Brinkmann, Johannes; Sims, Ronald R. & Nelson, Lawrence J. (2011)
Business Ethics Across the Curriculum?
8
Brinkmann, Johannes (2011)
Ethics as a challenge to well‐established morality?
, s. 189- 198.
Brinkmann, Johannes & Sims, Ronald R. (2011)
Business Ethics Curriculum Development: Balancing Idealism and Realism
, s. 27- 51.
Brinkmann, Johannes (2011)
Putting career morality on the agenda of business students : how one could use a play and survey results for triggering moral reflection
To celebrate the 100th anniversary of Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen’s death, during 2006 quite a number of cultural events were launched (cf. http://www.ibsen.net/). The paper suggests to celebrate Ibsen as a potentially useful resource for business ethics teaching. Departing from a short presentation of Ibsen’s plays An enemy of the people and A doll’s house the main focus of Our paper is on two selected scenes from the latter piece – both as raw material for developing scenarios for moral maturity assessment (one of them is strikingly similar to and different from Heinz’ dilemma), and for teaching business students moral reflection and imagination. As an open end of the paper a few wider questions are asked about the use of literature in addition to or instead of ethics when it comes to triggering moral reflection and imagination.
Brinkmann, Johannes (2009)
Putting Ethics on the Agenda for Real Estate Agents
This article uses sociological role theory to help understand ethical challenges faced by Norwegian real estate agents. The article begins with an introductory case, and then briefly examines the strengths and limitations of using legal definitions and rules for understanding real estate agency and real estate agent ethics. It goes on to argue that the ethical challenges of real estate agency can be described and understood as a system of conflicting roles with associated rights and duties, in particular sales agent, intermediary and adviser sub-roles. The arguments are developed using exploratory findings from a survey of Norwegian real estate agents and from several focus groups. The article then suggests the use of various intranet tools as a kind of action research aimed at putting ethics on the real estate agents’ agenda, working to develop a collective conscience and collective selfcriticism among the agents, and, in doing so, building bridges between academic research and the practical working world of the agents.
Brinkmann, Johannes & Peattie, Ken (2008)
Consumer Ethics Research: Reframing the Debate About Consumption for Good
13(1) , s. 22- 29.
Brinkmann, Johannes & Henriksen, Ann Mari (2008)
Vocational ethics as a subspecialty of business ethics - Structuring a research and teaching field
Vocational ethics and vocational moral socialization are important for the business ethical climate in a given country and in a given industry, but have not received attention in the literature. Our article suggests vocational ethics as a legitimate sub-specialty for business ethics research and development. The article addresses the exposure of vocational students to a combination of vocational school-based and workplace-based socialization, and outlines an agenda for teaching-oriented research and research-based teaching. More specifically, we first draft a conceptual frame of reference and then report results and experiences from a scenario-based pilot study at one of the biggest vocational schools in the country. As a third step such a preliminary situation analysis inspires a number of suggestions for how one could start with developing this field, practically, empirically and theoretically.
Sims, Ronald R. & Brinkmann, Johannes (2008)
Thoughts and second thoughts about Enron ethics
Brinkmann, Johannes (2007)
Responsibility Sharing (Elements of a Framework for Understanding Insurance Business Ethics)
Brinkmann, Johannes (2007)
Forbruksetikk: Å gi struktur til et nytt akademisk område
, s. 405- 438.
Brinkmann, Johannes & Lentz, P. (2006)
Understanding insurance customer dishonesty: Outline of a moral-sociological approach
66, s. 177- 195.
Most consumer morality studies focus on consumer immorality, i.e. different types and degrees of consumer dishonesty or deviance. This paper follows this tradition, by looking at insurance customer dishonesty. For looking at insurance customer dishonesty in a wider perspective, the paper drafts a sociology of insurance customer morality, including outlines of micro-level, meso-level and macro-level moral sociologies of insurance fraud, as well as a discussion of moral heterogeneity and a critical understanding of deviance. As a next step a few empirical rsearch questions are formulated and illustrated with data from a Norwegian-German pilot study.
Brinkmann, Johannes & Barcikowski, E. (2006)
Krombacher ? Save Nature, Drink Beer
Brinkmann, Johannes (2005)
Understanding Insurance Customer Dishonesty: Outline of a Situational Approach
61, s. 183- 197.
Brinkmann, Johannes & Peattie, Ken (2005)
Exploring Business School Ethics
2(2) , s. 151- 170.
Brinkmann, Johannes (2004)
Looking at Consumer Behavior in a Moral Perspective
51(2) , s. 129- 141.
Brinkmann, Johannes & Ims, Knut Johannessen (2004)
A conflict case approach to business ethics
53(1/2 Special Issue) , s. 123- 136.
Departing from frequent use of moral conflict cases in business ethics teaching and research, the paper suggests an elaboration of a moral conflict approach within business ethics, both conceptually and philosophically. The conceptual elaboration borrows from social science conflict research terminology, while the philosophical elaboration presents casuistry as a kind of practical, inductive argumentation with a focus on paradigmatic examples.
Sims, Ronald R. & Brinkmann, Johannes (2003)
Enron Ethics (Or: Culture Matters More than Codes)
45, s. 243- 256.
Sims, Ronald R. & Brinkmann, Johannes (2003)
Business Ethics Curriculum Design: Suggestions and illustrations
7, s. 69- 86.
Brinkmann, Johannes & Ims, Knut Johannessen (2003)
Good intentions aside: drafting a functionalist look at codes of ethics
12(3) , s. 265- 274.
Brinkmann, Johannes (2002)
Moral Reflection Differences among Norwegian Business Students. A presentation and discussion of findings
6, s. 83- 99.
Brinkmann, Johannes (2002)
Teaching Business Students Intercultural Communication
, s. 113- 120.
Brinkmann, Johannes (2002)
Business Ethics and Intercultural Communication. Exploring the overlap between two academic fields
(5) , s. 14- 14.
Brinkmann, Johannes & Steenbuck, Gisela (2002)
Wirtschaftsethik lehren mit Schillers moralischem Theater
3(1) , s. 58- 76.
Brinkmann, Johannes (2002)
Business and Marketing Ethics as Professional Ethics. Concepts, Aproaches and Typologies
41, s. 159- 177.
Sims, Ronald R. & Brinkmann, Johannes (2002)
Leaders as Moral Role Models: The Case of John Gutfreund at Salomon Brothers
35, s. 327- 339.
Brinkmann, Johannes & Axell, P. (2002)
Karrieremoral: Illustrasjon og refleksjon
, s. 259- 269.
Brinkmann, Johannes (2001)
Etikk for næringslivet. Perspektiver og praksis
Brinkmann, Johannes (2001)
Næringslivsetikk som akademisk fag?
15(1) , s. 35- 49.
Brinkmann, Johannes & Sims, Ronald R. (2001)
Stakeholder-Sensitive Business Ethics Teaching
5, s. 171- 193.
Brinkmann, Johannes (2001)
On Business Ethics and Moralism
10(4) , s. 311- 319.
Sims, Ron & Brinkmann, Johannes (2000)
Stakeholder-Sensitive Business Ethics Teaching
, s. 1- 23.
Brinkmann, Johannes (2000)
Real Estate Agent Ethics. Selected Findings from Two Norwegian Studies, Business Ethics
9(3) , s. 163- 173.
Lesch, W.; Grimm, J. & Brinkmann, Johannes (1999)
The North American Free Trade Agreement and Environmental Provisions: A Review of Promises, Processes, and Outcomes
9(1) , s. 73- 82.
Brinkmann, Johannes; Lindemann, Beate & Schlierer, Hans Jörg (2019)
“Englishization” versus Multilingualism… in Academia (Business Ethics for example).
[Conference Lecture]. Event
Brinkmann, Johannes; Lindemann, Beate & Schlierer, Hans Jörg (2019)
The languages of business ethics: Presenting survey findings on their own terms
[Conference Lecture]. Event
Brinkmann, Johannes (2018)
Putting “troubling times” on the agenda of business ethics?
[Conference Lecture]. Event
Brinkmann, Johannes; Lindemann, Beate, Lämsä, Anna Maija & Riivari, Elina (2018)
The languages of EBEN – Risks and opportunities
[Conference Lecture]. Event
Brinkmann, Johannes (2018)
Teaching (how to think) business ethics – different approaches
[Conference Lecture]. Event
Brinkmann, Johannes; Lindemann, Beate & Schlierer, Hans Jörg (2017)
Publish in English or perish? (Business Ethics as a Case)
[Conference Lecture]. Event
Brinkmann, Johannes; Lindemann, Beate & Schlierer, Hans Jörg (2017)
A Socratic dialogue about the true Language of business ethics
[Conference Lecture]. Event
Brinkmann, Johannes (2017)
Teaching business ethics – different approaches
[Conference Lecture]. Event
Brinkmann, Johannes & Sims, Ronald R. (2017)
Investigating business career morality
[Conference Lecture]. Event
Göke, Juliane; Brinkmann, Johannes & Huse, Morten (2016)
“The unexamined life is not worth living”? How to investigate and teach business career morality
