The hegemony of the neoclassical model as a conceptual and analytical framework to explain the operating logics of capitalism has made the ethics that this model carries implicit – the criteria, behaviours of the actors, etc., which are considered better or more appropriate due to the supposed good functioning of the system – have also occurred hegemonically. One of these “ethical” criteria or behaviors is the so-called stockholder theory, whereby a company’s sole responsibility is to increase profits for shareholders. In this article, we question the compatibility between this theory’s validity – as the empirical analysis indicates – with the social demand for companies to act with other ethics, and also how it is more plausible to move towards this change of values.

Universities can be considered a key element in promoting sustainable development through education, research, innovation and social leadership. In this educational-focused article, we discuss the need to provide students with the knowledge and skills needed to understand and address sustainability challenges. To do this, it will be very important to introduce sustainability – and also other related concepts – in university curriculums and, in particular, in Economic and Business courses, where future business leaders are currently being formed. For this reason, the article presented has a double objective, on the one hand, to answer this question: what are we teaching about this topic in universities and, in particular, in Economics and Business courses; and on the other hand: how are we integrating it into curriculum. The article reviews over time the main subjects that have covered this topic – from business ethics to ESG criteria, to CSR – and proposes different strategies to integrate this content into the curriculum.

The confluence of different factors is creating a closer approach of enterprises to society. On the one hand, the business’s need to establish permanent channels with consumers requires companies to become open systems and, with that, the assumption of civic obligations towards society. On the other hand, the Earth’s crazy situation is generating a general danger alarm that urgently appeals to social agents’ collaboration and commitment, especially productive organizations.

To achieve this, powerful approaches such as social responsibility and sustainability are being implemented, created to generate a productive transition that is beneficial for everyone, society, companies and the environment. The action plan is already in place, with a pact approved by the UN General Assembly (2030 Agenda), with a consistent business governance pattern (ESG) and with realistic objectives (SDGs). This orderly and firm tour allows us to match the conservation of the planet, with the quality of life and social well-being of its people.

As States point out in the resolution of the 2030 Agenda, “we are determined to end poverty and hunger around the world by 2030, to combat inequalities within and among countries, to build peaceful, fair and inclusive societies, to protect human rights and promote gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls, and to ensure a lasting protection of the planet and its natural resources”.

The main objective is to implement a new sustainable society that solves the serious problems that industrial society has brought us to. A fair and supportive community society that considers the health and concordance of humanity and its living environment. Ultimately, a society that uses freedom for people’s growth, equality to recognize each other as peers, and fraternity to care for each other.

This article analyses the relationship between the uses of Industry 4.0 technologies (I4.0), the value generation and firm results. Based on a sample of 1,525 Spanish industrial firms for 2014, the uses of four basic I4.0 technologies are identified: 1) computer-aided industrial design (CAD); 2) robotics; 3) flexible production systems; and 4) the activity’s numerical control machinery and software, an additional indicator is constructed and the statistical association with the value generation and firm results are studied. The research has obtained three main results. First of all, it is worth noting its incipience. 72.5% of Spanish industrial firms either do not use or use very moderately the I4.0 technologies. Despite of this and secondly, it should be noted that the uses of these technologies are associated with a value generating process in industrial firms which is more intensive in R&D and human capital, more innovative, more digital and more sustainable. And, thirdly, the research also concludes that firms with more intensive uses of I4.0 technologies have better results in terms of sales, value added, exports and gross operating margin. Productivity and employment results are especially relevant. I4.0 intensive industrial firms are 30% more efficient than firms that do not use these technologies. They are also able to take on a much larger number of employees (twice the industrial average) and to pay them much better (12.4% above the industrial average). Finally, the article also discusses the role that I4.0 could play as a new general purpose technology.

Some reflections are derived from recent studies conducted by the National Institute for Safety and Health at Work (INSHT) in a sample of over 60 excellent companies and directed by the writer of this article, on the link of Occupational hazards prevention to the Social Responsibility policy, and how this contributes to consolidate their successes.

In its editorial page, the journal introduces the dossier of the second Oikonomics issue. As social media are a current topic, the dossier includes five contributions by experts suggesting different approaches to how social media relate with economics and business, in order to provide more detailed information on their use and opportunities. The idea is forwarded from different perspectives (information management, marketing, business organisations, financial markets, social change…) in an environment where opportunities and challenges posed by online social media have a significant impact on the global economy. Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) stimulate innovative dynamism and have become one of the main foundations of the radical change experienced by the economy and social structures in the last decade as they are becoming a massively used resource affecting all economic and social stakeholders.