Ethical Exit in Business and Management: Degrowth, Wantlessness, and Responsible Succession

This research investigates voluntary degrowth as an ethical leadership strategy via a covert qualitative case study of a late-career pharmaceutical founder who implements strategic consolidation, equity repurchase, and personal austerity during the pinnacle of organisational success. Utilising degrowth economics, happiness research, wantlessness theory, and Self-Determination Theory, the paper examines whether voluntary withdrawal and portfolio reduction can represent an elevated form of corporate social responsibility. Through thematic analysis and abductive reasoning, the study formulates a conceptual model that connects degrowth orientation, intrinsic motivation, stakeholder justice, and long-term organisational resilience. The results contest growth-oriented paradigms and propose that ethical exit, succession planning, and consolidation could improve ecological sustainability and psychological well-being. The paper ends with ideas and hypotheses that can be tested with numbers in the future.