<正>This paper deals with personal data use by firms in the e-business environment from the viewpoint of business administration and information ethics. Whereas the tremendous development of information and communication technology (ICT) has made it easier for firms to acquire, store, share, and utilise personal data on their customers, firms that use personal data are exposed to risks related to privacy issues. Since individuals fear the invasion of their privacy, the failure of a firm to appear or remain trustworthy would make it difficult for it to maintain accurate, up-to-date databases and to construct desirable business processes, which would affect the bottom line. Therefore, modern firms should do what they can to ensure that their customers trust them. For them, one promising way to remain trustworthy is to behave as a moral agent. Although it is difficult for any firm to meet the conditions necessary to be a moral agent, competence in behaving as a moral agent is a hard-to-imitate capability af firms for which personal data use is vital for enjoying the benefits of business relationships in the e-business environment.
