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1 – 10 of over 1000Othmar Manfred Lehner, Kim Ittonen, Hanna Silvola, Eva Ström and Alena Wührleitner
This paper aims to identify ethical challenges of using artificial intelligence (AI)-based accounting systems for decision-making and discusses its findings based on Rest's…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to identify ethical challenges of using artificial intelligence (AI)-based accounting systems for decision-making and discusses its findings based on Rest's four-component model of antecedents for ethical decision-making. This study derives implications for accounting and auditing scholars and practitioners.
Design/methodology/approach
This research is rooted in the hermeneutics tradition of interpretative accounting research, in which the reader and the texts engage in a form of dialogue. To substantiate this dialogue, the authors conduct a theoretically informed, narrative (semi-systematic) literature review spanning the years 2015–2020. This review's narrative is driven by the depicted contexts and the accounting/auditing practices found in selected articles are used as sample instead of the research or methods.
Findings
In the thematic coding of the selected papers the authors identify five major ethical challenges of AI-based decision-making in accounting: objectivity, privacy, transparency, accountability and trustworthiness. Using Rest's component model of antecedents for ethical decision-making as a stable framework for our structure, the authors critically discuss the challenges and their relevance for a future human–machine collaboration within varying agency between humans and AI.
Originality/value
This paper contributes to the literature on accounting as a subjectivising as well as mediating practice in a socio-material context. It does so by providing a solid base of arguments that AI alone, despite its enabling and mediating role in accounting, cannot make ethical accounting decisions because it lacks the necessary preconditions in terms of Rest's model of antecedents. What is more, as AI is bound to pre-set goals and subjected to human made conditions despite its autonomous learning and adaptive practices, it lacks true agency. As a consequence, accountability needs to be shared between humans and AI. The authors suggest that related governance as well as internal and external auditing processes need to be adapted in terms of skills and awareness to ensure an ethical AI-based decision-making.
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Nairana Radtke Caneppele, Fernando Antonio Ribeiro Serra, Luis Hernan Contreras Pinochet and Izabela Martina Ramos Ribeiro
The purpose of this study is to understand how neuroscientific tools are used and discussed in ongoing research on strategy in organizations.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to understand how neuroscientific tools are used and discussed in ongoing research on strategy in organizations.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors used a bibliometric study of bibliographic pairing to answer the research question. They collected data from the Web of Science and Scopus databases using the keywords “neuroscience*,” “neurostrategy*” and “neuroscientific*.”
Findings
This study presents a framework that relates fundamental aspects discussed in current research using neuroscientific tools: Neuroscience and its research tools in organizations; emotions and information processing; interdisciplinary application of neuroscientific tools; and moral and ethical influences in the leaders' decision-making process.
Research limitations/implications
The inclusion of neuroscientific tools in Strategic Management research is still under development. There are criticisms and challenges related to the limitations and potential to support future research.
Practical implications
Despite recognizing the potential of neuroscientific tools in the mind and brain relationship, this study suggests that at this stage, because of criticisms and challenges, they should be used as support and in addition to other traditional research techniques to assess constructs and mechanisms related to strategic decisions and choices in organizations.
Social implications
Neuroscientific methods in organizational studies can provide insights into individual reactions to ethical issues and raise challenging normative questions about the nature of moral responsibility, autonomy, intention and free will, offering multiple perspectives in the field of business ethics.
Originality/value
In addition to presenting the potential and challenges of using scientific tools in strategic management studies, this study helps create methodological paths for studies in strategic management.
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Shannon Brown and Michael Chikeleze
Our paper discusses the need for continued focus on ethical leadership and the importance and benefits of ethical leadership development. We propose integrating ethical leadership…
Abstract
Our paper discusses the need for continued focus on ethical leadership and the importance and benefits of ethical leadership development. We propose integrating ethical leadership development, that uses cognitive development theory, into the Center for Creative Leadership’s Assess, Challenge, and Support (ACS) leader development model to help address the continued failures of ethical leader development. Our extended framework includes values and morals as a component of the model, and ethical organizational culture as its backdrop, thereby incorporating an examination of ethical leadership into each component of the ACS model. We conclude with practical implications and suggestions for future research.
Ibrahim M. Mkheimer, Kareem M. Selem, Ali Elsayed Shehata, Kashif Hussain and Marta Perez Perez
This study investigates the relationship between leaders' ethical behaviors and internal whistleblowing among hotel employees through the mediation role of organizational…
Abstract
Purpose
This study investigates the relationship between leaders' ethical behaviors and internal whistleblowing among hotel employees through the mediation role of organizational virtuousness. According to the conceptual framework, ethical leadership creates a virtuous workplace and encourages whistleblowing.
Design/methodology/approach
A survey approach with responses of 442 employees from Egyptian five-star hotels was used. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to test the hypotheses proposed based on leader–member exchange (LMX) and ethical leadership theories.
Findings
Ethical leadership has a favorable impact on organizational virtuousness and, as a result, has a significant impact on whistleblowing intention. The ethical leaders–subordinates' intents to whistleblow association partially mediated organizational virtuousness. To assist them in reporting ethics violations, most hotel employees require organizational characteristics, such as organizational climate and psychological empowerment, in addition to individual characteristics, such as moral bravery and ethical efficacy.
Originality/value
The conceptual framework of this paper adds a new guide for future research related to the hospitality literature, which is how employees' intent to internal whistleblowing. As such, senior management should serve as a moral role model for hotel employees, inspiring them to be moral and allowing them to participate in decision-making.
研究目的
本研究擬透過組織德行所扮演的仲介角色,去探討領導者的道德行為與酒店員工間內部舉報的相互關係。根據有關的概念框架,領導倫理會為機構創造一個富有道德的工作場所,以及鼓勵員工互相舉報不當的行為。
研究設計/方法/理念
研究採用調查方法進行,數據來自442名於埃及五星級酒店工作的僱員的回覆。研究人員以結構方程模型來測試研究的假設 - 研究的假設乃根據領導者-成員交換理論和倫理型領導理論而提出的。
研究結果
領導倫理會給組織美德帶來積極的影響,因此,領導倫理也會給舉報動機帶來重要的影響。領袖-下屬舉報合夥人合乎道德的動機,對組織美德起著仲介作用。若要酒店僱員舉報違反道德規範的行為,除了僱員須有個人特質、如道德勇氣和倫理效能等之外,酒店亦須具備一些組織特徵、如組織氛圍和心理賦權等。
研究的原創性/價值
本研究的概念框架,給探討僱員作內部舉報行為的動機的學者提供新的指引,為餐旅業的研究提供方向。組織的高級管理人員應以身作則,為僱員建立道德典範,鼓勵他們遵循道德規範而行事,並容許他們參與決策。
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Bakhtiar Sadeghi, Deborah Richards, Paul Formosa, Mitchell McEwan, Muhammad Hassan Ali Bajwa, Michael Hitchens and Malcolm Ryan
Cybersecurity vulnerabilities are often due to human users acting according to their own ethical priorities. With the goal of providing tailored training to cybersecurity…
Abstract
Purpose
Cybersecurity vulnerabilities are often due to human users acting according to their own ethical priorities. With the goal of providing tailored training to cybersecurity professionals, the authors conducted a study to uncover profiles of human factors that influence which ethical principles are valued highest following exposure to ethical dilemmas presented in a cybersecurity game.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors’ game first sensitises players (cybersecurity trainees) to five cybersecurity ethical principles (beneficence, non-maleficence, justice, autonomy and explicability) and then allows the player to explore their application in multiple cybersecurity scenarios. After playing the game, players rank the five ethical principles in terms of importance. A total of 250 first-year cybersecurity students played the game. To develop profiles, the authors collected players' demographics, knowledge about ethics, personality, moral stance and values.
Findings
The authors built models to predict the importance of each of the five ethical principles. The analyses show that, generally, the main driver influencing the priority given to specific ethical principles is cultural background, followed by the personality traits of extraversion and conscientiousness. The importance of the ingroup was also a prominent factor.
Originality/value
Cybersecurity professionals need to understand the impact of users' ethical choices. To provide ethics training, the profiles uncovered will be used to build artificially intelligent (AI) non-player characters (NPCs) to expose the player to multiple viewpoints. The NPCs will adapt their training according to the predicted players’ viewpoint.
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The ethics literature has focused on the influence of self-construal dimensions on unethical decision-making. However, the literature is unclear about why these self-construal…
Abstract
Purpose
The ethics literature has focused on the influence of self-construal dimensions on unethical decision-making. However, the literature is unclear about why these self-construal dimensions (Independent-self, Relational-self, Collective-self) impact differently on unethical decision-making. Based on the theory of cooperation and competition, this study empirically examines the mediating role of competitive orientation and addresses the theoretically unexplained question of why self-construal dimensions influence differently on unethical decision-making.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on the deductive approach, a quantitative research study was conducted on the Sri Lankan banking industry because there have been many instances of unethical behavior reported in this sector lately. Data were collected from 305 bank branch managers using a structured survey questionnaire.
Findings
The findings revealed that competitive orientation mediates the self-construal dimensions and explained that competitive orientation is one reason why independent-self, relational-self and collective-self influence differently on unethical decision-making.
Originality/value
This paper addresses the unanswered question of why self-construal dimensions relate to unethical decision-making differently.
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Qurat-ul-Ain Burhan, Muhammad Asif Khan and Muhammad Faisal Malik
This study aims to identify the impact of ethical leadership on ethical voice by determining two paths covering relational identification and psychological safety. The first path…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to identify the impact of ethical leadership on ethical voice by determining two paths covering relational identification and psychological safety. The first path focused on relational identification and psychological safety. Alternatively, the second path focused on organizational identification and psychological ownership leading to ethical voice. The specific objective of the study is to develop and test an integrated model of ethical leadership.
Design/methodology/approach
The objectives were achieved through the adoption of quantitative research techniques. Two hundred forty-eight samples were collected from the banking sector using quantitative research techniques, and data was gathered through a self-administrated questionnaire. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were used through AMOS to generate the results and test hypotheses.
Findings
The results suggested a significant impact of ethical leadership on ethical voice, while the other paths’ results, such as relational identification, psychological safety, organizational identification and psychological ownership, suggested partial mediation. The study result adds new insights into ethical leadership and social exchange theory since it tested overlooked paths in the literature, such as relational identification and psychological safety.
Research limitations/implications
The research highlights the significance of ethical voice as a desirable organizational behavior. Ethical voice contributes to a culture of accountability, transparency and ethical decision-making. Organizations should establish channels and platforms for employees to voice ethical concerns and suggestions. This may involve regular feedback sessions, anonymous reporting mechanisms and protection policies for whistleblowers. Leaders should actively encourage and value ethical voices as a valuable contribution to the ethical climate of the organization.
Practical implications
The study found that ethical leaders influence their followers in such a way that they adopt ethical behavior. It is also validated that organizational ethics are shared by employees who interact with ethical leaders. So, departments should train such leaders because ethical leadership positively affects followers’ attitudes and behaviors, and organizations should encourage ethical behavior in supervisors and subordinates. The study also found that relational and organizational identification helps employees develop psychological capabilities, which leads to reporting workplace misconduct. The current study tested these mechanisms collectively and found that ethical leadership significantly contributes to ethical voice.
Social implications
The current study highlighted the role of ethical leaders in promoting ethical behavior, improving employee well-being and engagement, cultivating collaboration and inclusion, and making a contribution to the overall ethical climate within organizations and society as a whole. Organizations can have a positive impact on the social fabric by cultivating a culture of ethics, respect and social responsibility if they make these considerations their top priorities.
Originality/value
The current study is unique since it is intended to develop and test an integrated model of ethical leadership and ethical voice. This research combines an integrated model, focusing on employees’ identities and self-concepts and examining ethical voice as a behavioral outcome.
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Abyshey Nhedzi and Caroline Muyaluka Azionya
This study answers the call for research and theorising exploring ethical communication and brand risk from the African continent. The study's purpose was to identify the…
Abstract
Purpose
This study answers the call for research and theorising exploring ethical communication and brand risk from the African continent. The study's purpose was to identify the challenges that strategic communication practitioners face in enacting ethical crisis communication in South Africa.
Design/methodology/approach
The researchers conducted ten in-depth interviews with South African strategic communication professionals.
Findings
The dominant theme emerging from the study is the marginalisation and exclusion of the communication function in decision-making during crisis situations. Communicators were viewed as implementers, technicians and not strategic counsel. The protection of organisational reputation was done at the expense of the ethics and moral conscience of practitioners. Practitioners were viewed and deployed as spin doctors and tools to face unwanted media interactions.
Originality/value
The article sheds light on the concepts of ethical communication and decision-making in a multicultural African context using the moral theory of Ubuntu and strategic communication. It demonstrates the tension professionals experience as they toggle between unethical capitalist approaches and African values. The practitioner's role as organisational moral conscience is hindered, suppressed and undermined by organisational leadership's directives to use opaque, complex communication, selective transparency and misrepresentation of facts.
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Akram Hatami, Jan Hermes and Naser Firoozi
To succeed in today’s dynamic and unpredictable business world, businesses are increasingly required to gain the trust of and inform the society in which they operate about the…
Abstract
Purpose
To succeed in today’s dynamic and unpredictable business world, businesses are increasingly required to gain the trust of and inform the society in which they operate about the social and environmental consequences of their actions. Corporations’ claims regarding the responsibility and ethicality of their actions, however, have been shown to be contradictory to some degree. We define corporations’ deceitful implementation of their corporate social responsibility (CSR) policies as pseudo-CSR. We argue that it is the moral characteristics of individuals, i.e. employees, managers and other decision-makers who ignore the CSR policies, which produce pseudo-CSR.
Design/methodology/approach
This is a conceptual paper.
Findings
The authors conceptualize the gap between true CSR and pseudo-CSR on a cognitive individual level as “moral laxity,” resulting from organization-induced lack of effort concerning individual moral development through ethical discourse, ethical sensemaking and subjectification processes. The absence of these processes prohibits individuals in organizations from constructing ethical identities to inhibit pseudo-CSR activities.
Originality/value
This paper contributes to the literature on CSR by augmenting corporate-level responsibility with the hitherto mostly neglected, yet significant, role of the individual in bridging this gap.
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Gabrielle Samuel and Federica Lucivero
In April 2020, it was announced that NHSX, a unit of the UK National Health Service (NHS) responsible for digital innovation, was developing a contact tracing app that would offer…
Abstract
Purpose
In April 2020, it was announced that NHSX, a unit of the UK National Health Service (NHS) responsible for digital innovation, was developing a contact tracing app that would offer a digital solution to managing the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the urgency with which the app was developed, a clear commitment was made to designing the technology in a way that enshrined key ethical principles, and an ethics advisory board (EAB) was established to provide timely advice, guidance and recommendations on associated ethical issues. Alongside this, there were extensive criticisms of how NHSX adhered to ethical principles in the handling of the app development-criticisms that require empirical exploration. This paper explores how ethics was incorporated into decision-making during governance processes associated with the development of app.
Design/methodology/approach
Interviews were conducted with those involved in the app's development/governance, those with a consulting role associated with the app, or those who sat on the EAB.
Findings
The EAB fulfilled an important role by introducing ethical considerations to app developers. Though at times, it was difficult to accommodate key ethics principles into governance processes, which sometimes suffered from little accountability.
Originality/value
While several articles have provided overviews of ethical issues, or explored public perceptions towards contact tracing apps, to the best the authors, knowledge this is the first empirical piece analysing ethics governance issues via stakeholder interviews.
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