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The purpose of this paper is to offer an interdisciplinary review of the existing research on ethical behavior – informed by philosophical theories, social sciences, and applied business research – and identifies the merits and limitations of the extant theories, including the applicability of prescriptive frameworks and models to business practice.

Following the review, the paper advances a descriptive model of ethical decision‐making criteria that elucidates how individual, organizational, and environmental variables interact to influence attitude formation across critical components of an ethical issue.

The model advanced expands upon other existing frameworks and provides a comprehensive and simultaneous assessment of the interplay between individual‐level variables (e.g. demographic variables, position in the organisation), the structure and climate of the organisation in which the decisions are made, and the social and political features of the business environment.

The proposed model can be used as a training tool and it holds several advantages over the extant alternatives, namely versatility (it is adaptable to the specific organizational context in which respondents are required to conceptualize the dilemma and generate courses of action), and scope (the model allows for the simultaneous assessment of a myriad of cross‐level variables).

The paper offers a comprehensive decision‐making model that can be used to examine ethical decisions in business settings, to investigate potential differences in decision‐making accuracy and ethical reasoning between groups and individuals, and to examine the impact of changing ethical climates in organizational strategy.

The purpose of this paper is to study the influence of pivot stiffness on the dynamic characteristics of tilting-pad journal bearings (TPJBs) and the stability of the bearing-rotor system.

A theoretical numerical model is established, and the influences of pivot stiffness on TPJBs and a bearing-rotor system are analyzed. Then, two kinds of pivot structures with different stiffness are designed and the vibration characteristics are tested on the vertical rotor bearing test bench.

The pivot stiffness has an obvious effect on the dynamic characteristics of the TPJBs and the stability of the bearing-rotor system. As a result of appropriate pivot stiffness, the critical speed and the vibration amplification factor can be reduced, the logarithmic decay rate and the stability of the rotor system can be effectively increased. While the journal whirl orbit is smoother and the rubbing is obviously reduced when the bearings have flexible pivots.

The influence of pivot stiffness on TPJBs and a vertical rotor-bearing system is studied by theoretical and experimental methods.

This paper seeks to examine the ethical dilemmas that emerge when offering microfinance services in BOP markets.

Utilizing the ethical lenses of deontology, teleology, virtue ethics and moral relativism, the paper builds on prior research on ethical issues in BOP markets and the ethics of microfinance to highlight the specific stakeholder impacts facing MFIs. Relevant literature and examples from practice are utilized to illustrate the different ethical perspectives.

In general, many of the key dilemmas represent themselves in the extreme poverty segment of the BOP where commercial business models have the least traction.

Propositions are developed for the corrective actions in the paper which might allow future research to uncover differences in intervention success in different BOP markets.

The discussion of potential interventions for the various stakeholders may ameliorate criticisms of MFIs, suggest opportunities for cross‐sectoral partnerships and improve outreach to the poorest of the poor.

For each issue addressed, this paper looks at the types of corrections that are made or called for through markets, government actions and civil society to respond to the negative impacts uncovered through our analysis.

The analysis in this paper contributes to the theoretical ethical literature with a very specific application to an emerging concern in the field of microfinance. It also offers prescriptive scenarios for industry and public policy makers. It challenges the ethics underlying businesses that wish to target the full spectrum of Base of Pyramid participants.

This study contributes to the understanding of the health effects of pesticides exposure and of how pesticides have been and should be regulated.

This study presents literature reviews for the period 2000–2013 on (i) the health effects of pesticides and on (ii) preference valuation of health risks related to pesticides, as well as a discussion of the role of benefit-cost analysis applied to pesticide regulatory measures.

This study indicates that the health literature has focused on individuals with direct exposure to pesticides, i.e. farmers, while the literature on preference valuation has focused on those with indirect exposure, i.e. consumers. The discussion highlights the need to clarify the rationale for regulating pesticides, the role of risk perceptions in benefit-cost analysis, and the importance of inter-disciplinary research in this area.

This study relates findings of different disciplines (health, economics, public policy) regarding pesticides, and identifies gaps for future research.

The aim of this study is to look into the factors that influence the level of ethics and integrity in Malaysian public sector.

This study uses a quantitative approach by delivering 128 questionnaires to Federal Chief Integrity Officers (CIOs), of which 83 were received and usable. The data were analysed using multiple regression analysis and descriptive statistics.

The quality of CIO in terms of competency, work performance and ethical climate has significant impact on the level of ethics and integrity. According to the study, having certified CIOs who can effectively perform their function and promote and nurture a transparent ethical climate are critical for the Malaysian Federal government to maintain a high level of ethics. Employees who have a high level of ethics are more likely to stay with the organization.

In addition, this study will assist policymakers in taking the required actions to strengthen public sector integrity practices for the establishment of a more dependable and efficient government in Malaysia.

This study addresses a gap in the Malaysian public sector’s level of ethics and integrity.

Though there is broad agreement on the beneficial impact of diversity in management and leadership roles, much of the innovative capacity of an organization is realized at the unit level in working teams. Recent research points to cultural diversity having an especially significant impact on innovation team performance. The reports also highlight the need for the optimal team operating principles to derive maximum benefit. To prepare such innovation teams for success, it is valuable to understand the dynamics of team diversity at the project level and the underlying barriers and opportunities presented.

This paper reviews the literature and case studies on cultural inputs to ideation and innovation, assessing team diversity through readily available instruments and the deployment of the science of team science (SciTS) principles in innovation teams.

The key learnings include the importance of establishing communication standards, SciTS principles, team assessment of thinking styles and the utility of cultural awareness instruments.

Diversity provides a creative advantage for innovation teams. However, team dynamics play an important role in maximizing these advantages, and cross-cultural competence of team members is required. Deployment of appropriate assessment tools and team methodologies enhances the likelihood of successful outcomes including in remote team settings.

Literature from diverse functional areas is summarized including the science of team science, organizational management, diversity and inclusion methodologies and ethnocultural dynamics. It provides pointers for the optimal formation and operating principles with highly culturally diverse teams.

The purpose of this paper is to present the implementation in a finite element (FE) code of a recently developed material model for the analysis of cracked reinforced concrete (RC) panels. The model aims for the efficient nonlinear analysis of large‐scale structural elements that can be considered as an assembly of membrane elements, such as bridge girders, shear walls, transfer beams or containment structures.

In the proposed constitutive model, the equilibrium equations of the cracked membrane element are established directly at the cracks while the compatibility conditions are expressed in terms of spatially averaged strains. This allows the well‐known mechanical phenomena governing the behaviour of cracked concrete elements – such as aggregate interlock (including crack dilatancy effects), tensile fracture and bond shear stress transfer – to be taken into account in a transparent manner using detailed phenomenological models. The spatially averaged stress and strain fields are obtained as a by‐product of the local behaviour at the cracks and of the bond stress transfer mechanisms, allowing the crack spacing and crack widths to be obtained directly from first principles. The model is implemented in an FE code following a total formulation.

The fact that the updated stresses at the cracks are calculated explicitly from the current spatially averaged total strains and from the updated values of the state variables that are used to monitor damage evolution contributes to the robustness and efficiency of the implementation. Some application examples are presented illustrating the model capabilities and good estimates of the failure modes, failure loads, deformation capacity, cracking patterns and crack widths were achieved.

While being computationally efficient, the model describes the complex stress and strain fields developing in the membrane element, and retrieves useful information for the structural engineer, such as concrete and reinforcement failures as well as the crack spacing and crack widths.

This chapter explores how stress may manifest among non-family member employees, family member employees, and family firm founders in family firms during the startup phases of the organization. Understanding how stress arises in family firm startups has received limited attention to date. Notably absent in the research is the understanding of how stress arises in non-family member employees, which is important to understand as non-family member employees often outnumber family member employees. As stress increases for the non-family member employee due to issues such as role ambiguity and conflict, negative outcomes resultant from this stress may increase the chances of the employee exhibiting withdrawal behaviors. It is suggested these outcomes increase the stress of the family firm entrepreneur and family members by increasing interrole and interpersonal conflicts and negatively impacting decision-making. These effects on the family members may adversely impact the family firm’s chances of performing well, thus decreasing its chances for survival. Recommendations for future research are also made.