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The field of behavioral business ethics has come a long way since its inception nearly five decades ago. Pioneered in part in response to a number of high-profile corporate scandals, the early field of business ethics was thought by many to be a fad that would recede along with the salience of the scandals of the day. Yet, this could not have been further from the truth. The need for behavioral business ethics research remains ever-present, as evidenced by the sustained number of scandals and unethical behavior within and by organizations. Moreover, research in this area has burgeoned. In the 1980s, only 54 articles had been published on this topic (Tenbrunsel & Smith-Crowe, 2008); today, a similar search yields over 3,000 “hits.” In light of the area’s growth, we suggest the need to take a look back at the seminal work that sparked social scientific work in the field. In particular, this chapter has two main objectives. First, we provide a review of select foundational work. In so doing, we identify some of the key trends that characterized early knowledge development in the field. Second, we draw on this historical context to consider how past trends relate to current work and speak to future research opportunities.

The purpose of this paper is to present personal testimony of one of the early researchers on small to medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) and entrepreneurship in France.

The story of a half‐century evolution is divided into five decades, of SME and entrepreneurship development in France. The development of the French academic system of research on SME and entrepreneurship is described through some teams.

During the two early decades (1955‐1975), both the social legitimacy and economic competitiveness sharply and deeply lowered, while that after the world crisis (1975) until nowadays (2005), the social, political, and economic interest for SME and entrepreneurship has continuously increased.

The academic research pioneered SME during the 1960s, and entrepreneurship during the 1980s. The historical development of the national network of teams and associations is described, increasingly including the international context.

Beyond the personal testimony, this contribution enlightens the problems entailed by the lack of legitimacy of the spirit of enterprise anchored in French society, and, more generally, in all the societies averse to individual risk taking.

The testimony is based on the personal experience of one scholar who early promoted in the French academic system Master and Doctoral courses on SME and entrepreneurship. It outlines some original concepts relative to small firms.