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The aim of this study is to examine the relations among organizational ethical climate, goal interdependence (cooperative vs competitive goals), and organizational and professional commitment among auditors in Asia.

The authors conducted a field survey of 293 auditors employed in two offices of an international accounting firm: one in Hong Kong and one in Singapore.

Structural equation analyses indicate that instrumental ethical climates that focus on the pursuit of self‐interest and firm profitability promote more competitive and less cooperative goals among auditors. Benevolent/cosmopolitan (public interest) climates appear to enhance cooperative goals among employees. Cooperative goals in turn were associated with increased affective and normative organizational and professional commitments. Competitive environments significantly reduced affective and normative organizational commitment as well as affective professional commitment. Compared with their Hong Kong counterparts, Singaporean auditors perceived the ethical climate in their firm to be more positive or supportive of ethical values, and also felt the work environment in the firm was more cooperative and less competitive. In addition, the Singaporean auditors exhibited somewhat higher levels of emotional attachment to both their firm and the public accounting profession.

No prior accounting study has examined the influence of cooperative/competitive goals on work outcomes in a public accounting setting, or the role of ethical climates as potential antecedents of such goals. The results of the current study indicate that the development of cooperative and competitive goals is significantly related to the perceived ethical climate in public accounting firms, and that such goals may have significant effects on employee commitment not only to their organization but also to their profession. The significant differences between auditors in Hong Kong and Singapore have not previously been documented, and raise questions for future research.

Project-based organizations (PBOs) face challenges to enhance employee work engagement because of dynamic and constant role configuration. Accordingly, this study aims to explore how ethical leadership enhances employee work engagement from a sensemaking perspective.

This study used a questionnaire-based quantitative research design to collect data from 194 full-time employees in PBOs. The data were analyzed via partial least squares-structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) technique to test hypotheses.

The findings show a positive relationship between ethical leadership and work engagement. Additionally, the relationship between ethical leadership and work engagement is mediated by two sensemaking mechanisms, i.e. goal commitment and prosocial.

This study deepens the understanding of how ethical leadership enhances work engagement in PBOs by providing two sensemaking mechanisms. By exploring the sensemaking process through which ethical leaders help employees construct identity, the findings contribute to the current literature on how ethical leadership enhances work engagement in PBOs.

The purpose of this paper is to contribute knowledge on ethical issues and reasoning in expert reports concerning healthcare governance, commissioned by the Swedish healthcare system.

An in-depth analysis of ethical issues and reasoning in 36 commissioned expert reports was performed. Twenty-seven interviews with commissioners and producers of the reports were also carried out and analysed.

Some ethical issues were identified in the reports. But ethical reasoning was rarely evident. The meaning of ethical concepts could be devalued and changed over time and thereby deviate from statutory ethical goals and values. Several ethical issues of great concern for the Swedish public healthcare were also absent.

The commissioner of expert reports needs to ensure that comprehensive ethical considerations and ethical analysis are integrated in the expert reports.

Based on an extensive data material this paper reveals an ethical void in expert reports on healthcare governance. By avoiding ethical issues there is a risk that the expert reports could bring about reforms and control models that have ethically undesirable consequences for people and society.

Development ethics is an important topic which is often neglected in development studies. The purpose of the paper is to analyze international development in an ethical‐based context using the approach of development ethics.

The analysis is mainly based on the pioneering work of the prominent development ethicists and the founder of development ethics as self‐conscious area – Denis Goulet – along with recent development ethics literature. In this context, international development is approached under a holistic ethical manner.

Development ethicists reduce the gap between a conventional perspective of development and the real needs of humankind. In contrast to mainstream economics view, for development ethics the true indicator of development is not growth in a narrow sense of material expansion of wellbeing, but the qualitative enrichment of human beings in all relevant aspects of human life. International development is preserved as an effort to a better life for individuals and to a good global society for nations.

If research is reported on in the paper, this section must be completed and should include suggestions for future research and any identified limitations in the research process.

The proposed ethical goals and strategies are normative judgments which provide both the notional and practical framework within which international development should be discussed and policy recommendations could be formulated.

The notion of development is redefined on ethical foundations. A conceptual typology of the development ethics goals and strategies to international development is offered. The paper can be perceived as a point of departure that scholars and students of international development and development economics in broad, from both perspectives (orthodox and heterodox), can be incorporated with ethical matters to international development and benefit from it.

This paper aims to investigate the mediating and moderating roles of mindfulness in explaining the influences of performance goal attributes (e.g. difficulty, specificity and performance pressure), moral justification and peer unethical sales behavior on unintentional unethical behavior in the sales context. In this study, goal attributes and peer unethical sales behavior are proposed to positively impact unethical selling behavior. Especially, mindfulness and moral justification are explored as mediators of these relationships. Moreover, mindfulness also moderates the influence of peer’s unethical sales behavior on moral justification.

A sample of 188 salespeople working in companies in Vietnam is included to test the conceptual framework. Partial least squares structural equations modeling and SmartPLS v3 were implemented to test the path model.

This study highlights the mediating and moderating roles of mindfulness in explaining unintentional unethical behavior. The findings indicate that sales performance goals negatively influence mindfulness and positively influence unethical behavior. In the mediating role, mindfulness mediates the relationships between goal attributes and moral justification. Further, moral justification also mediates the influence of mindfulness on unethical behavior. In the moderating role, mindfulness plays a significant impact on the positive relationships between peers’ unethical selling behavior and moral justification.

Data are collected from salespeople in Vietnam. Therefore, the results are limited.

While many organizations use goal-setting as a tool to promote employees’ performance, it is warned that goal variables (e.g. difficulty, specificity and performance pressure) may lead to unethical behavior. Interestingly, people may fail to notice moral dilemmas because of focusing on the goals. Furthermore, ethical erosion in organizations may spur unethical selling behavior. Therefore, salespeople sell unethically without intention to do so. Proposing mindfulness as self-regulation, these findings may explain the reasons people display unintentional unethical behavior. Therefore, it is crucial to set performance goals for employees not only to promote their performance but also to prevent unethical behaviors.

By focusing on the roles of mindfulness that foster unintended unethical practices, this study provides important implications for governments and policymakers. For example, governments may emphasize ethical codes to clearly definite which practices are unethical. Moreover, ethics training should be considered to enhance ethical cognition in people.

Emphasizing unintentional unethical selling behaviors in sales context, this study tests a research framework which highlights the roles of mindfulness in explaining the dark effects of performance goals on people’s cognition and behavior. Therefore, this paper contributes to a deeper understanding of ethical blind spots in people’s cognition.

Deepfake information poses more ethical risks than traditional disinformation in terms of fraud, slander, rumors and other malicious uses. However, owing to its high entertainment value, deepfake information with ethical risks has become popular. This study aims to understand the role of ethics and entertainment in the acceptance and regulation of deepfake information.

Mixed methods were used to qualitatively identify ethical concerns and quantitatively evaluate the influence of ethical concerns and perceived enjoyment on the ethical acceptability and social acceptance of deepfake information.

The authors confirmed that informed consent, privacy protection, traceability and non-deception had a significantly positive impact on ethical acceptability and indirectly influenced social acceptance, with privacy protection being the most sensitive. Perceived enjoyment impacts the social acceptance of deepfake information and significantly weakens the effect of ethical acceptability on social acceptance.

The ethical concerns affecting acceptance behavior identified in this study provide an entry point for the ethical regulation of deepfake information. The weakening effect of perceived enjoyment on ethics serves as a wake-up call for regulators to guard against pan-entertainment deepfake information.

Many scholars have primarily disregarded employee motivation in the context of Western and Islamic ideas. To better understand employee motivation, this paper aims to explore a novel approach of fusing McClelland’s needs theory (i.e. achievement, power and affiliation) with Maqasid Shariah.

This study adopts a theoretical research design. There will be a thorough literature study of McClelland’s theory, Maqasid Shariah, and employee motivation. Qualitative content analysis is used to examine and compile pertinent ideas. To give a thorough framework for comprehending employee motivation from both Western and Islamic ethical viewpoints, McClelland’s theory and Maqasid Shariah are integrated.

This paper has conceptualized the integration of Maqasid Shariah’s five requirements with McClelland’s need theory. It is suggested that Maqasid Shariah and McClelland’s need theory be combined to understand employee motivation. For employees, the integration of McClelland’s need theory and Maqasid Shariah entails developing a work environment that attends to their many needs, is consistent with Islamic principles, encourages justice and equity, supports both professional and personal development and promotes social responsibility. By combining McClelland’s need theory and Maqasid Shariah, 15 propositions are developed to explain employee motivation. The study offers a measurement index to explain employee motivation based on the two theories.

The integration of McClelland’s theory of need and Maqasid Shariah offers expected positive implications. By considering the cultural and religious context in Islamic societies, researchers can adopt a more sensitive approach to studying motivation. This blend provides a holistic understanding of motivation, incorporating individual needs and broader ethical dimensions. Studies may explore the impact on prosocial behavior, organizational values, leadership practices and employee well-being. Understanding the alignment between personal motives and ethical principles can benefit organizations in diverse workplaces, emphasizing long-term sustainability and fostering employee engagement and commitment.

The integration of McClelland’s theory and Maqasid Shariah shows the potential implications to increase employee motivation. This study contributes significantly to Maqasid Shariah theory in business research by guiding ethical decision-making aligned with Islamic values, fostering inclusive workplaces and offering strategies for boosting employee morale. It emphasizes ethical practices, legal compliance and community engagement, while also encouraging sustainable business models that consider societal well-being and the environment.

This paper provides its unique value by being among the first to integrate McClelland’s theory and Maqasid Shariah and providing an innovative approach in developing a new measurement index in the context of employee motivation.

This study examines the impact of ethics education interventions (EEI) on attaining ethical education goals in higher institutions.

The study utilizes a survey method, with questionnaires distributed to accounting instructors from universities and professional accountants in Ghana. The empirical analysis is based on 417 valid responses, and the hypothesized relationships are tested using ordinary least square (OLS) regression.

The results indicate that ethics-related courses (ERC), methods of teaching ethics (MTE) and methods of ethics interventions (MEI) have a positive and significant impact on achieving the objective set for EEI in accounting programs.

This study provides valuable insights for accounting educators and professional body managers in developing accounting ethics curricula in universities and professional accounting institutions.

This study involves accounting educators and professionals and applies ethical theories of egoism, deontology and utilitarianism to demonstrate the role of ethical interventions in accounting programs in achieving set objectives from a developing country context.

To justify fully the inclusion of a business ethics course in the business school curriculum, it is necessary that the course achieve four goals. Yet two of these goals are not even addressed in the business ethics texts used today in business ethics courses. The other two goals are addressed in business ethics texts, and research indicates these goals are achievable. The best way to realize these attainable goals is to incorporate the teaching of ethics into regular business courses.

Introduction The connection between wealth and virtue or between economics and ethics has been severed. Pure or positive economics is believed to be objective and scientific, based on facts alone, while normative or ethical reasoning is believed to be less reliable and non scientific because it is subjective, value‐laden and prone to prejudice and personal preferences.