Aristotle's entrepreneurial ethics

"Learning mutual esteem and trust, without which nothing can happen, takes time - no crisis can teach us that." Costas Petropoulos, the 78-year-old owner of Petros Petropoulos SA, a Greek company nearing its centenary, is the Platonic ideal of the philosopher-businessman. His firm, which used to make car engines, trucks and tractors, but now mostly represents foreign manufacturers (of cars, outboard motors, lubricants), has recently become a favorite among international investors.

A few weeks ago, the Jersey-based hedge fund Brevan Howard became the third foreign investor to snap up shares in the Athens-listed company, buying up 8.15 percent of its share capital. I visited the company's main offices in the Greek capital to find out why.

"Aristotle said that virtue is a habit, not an act," Petropoulos explains, warming to his theme. "What is magical is that the change...