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1 – 10 of 456Ifeoluwa Tobi Popoola, Milorad Novicevic, Paul Johnson and Mervin Matthew
The purpose of this paper is to introduce the relational view of unethical pro-organisational behaviour (UPB) to explain interpersonal paths of influence on employees’ engagement…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to introduce the relational view of unethical pro-organisational behaviour (UPB) to explain interpersonal paths of influence on employees’ engagement in UPB. The proposed relational view of UPB is grounded in Darwall’s second-person philosophy.
Design/methodology/approach
This research design involves two quantitative studies – a pilot study with 340 subjects and the main study with 310 employees. The structural equation modelling data analysis was conducted using the R language software.
Findings
The findings provided initial support for the relational view of UPB. Study 1 revealed that employees’ accountability (perceived as personal obligation) influenced their engagement in UPB. Furthermore, Study 2 strengthens the theory and findings from Study 1 that employees’ moral organisational identification influences their engagement in UPB over the influence of employees’ identification with the organisation.
Research limitations/implications
The findings extend the nomological network of UPB and extant theoretical knowledge on the moral self by uncovering how moral accountability and personal obligation have a “dark side”.
Practical implications
The findings indicate that practitioners should address the impact of employee interpersonal relationships on their perceived obligation to engage in UPB.
Originality/value
The authors provided an original use of Darwall’s second-person standpoint as the philosophical foundation to integrate accountability and identity theories, to explain interpersonal influences on employees’ engagement in UPB.
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In the information and technology age, where the “physical” world is merged with the “digital” world, the nature of social conditions, relations, citizenship and the flow of…
Abstract
Purpose
In the information and technology age, where the “physical” world is merged with the “digital” world, the nature of social conditions, relations, citizenship and the flow of information has shifted from a moral and legal approach to a digital approach. Nowadays, the functioning, dissemination, conduct and governance of organisations and their members are regulated by techno-ethical and digital principles. Drawing on social cognitive theory, the study hypothesises that techno-ethical orientation predicts corporate ethical values (CEV) through the moderation of digital citizenship behaviour (DC). The study further proposes that each dimension of DC: online respect (OR) and online civic engagement (OCE), moderates the hypothesised relationship.
Design/methodology/approach
546 respondents from India participated in the study. The responses were captured using structured and well-established questionnaires. The analysis was performed using robust measures of correlation, regression, reliability (Cronbach’s alpha and composite reliability) and validity (convergent and discriminant validity). The moderation influence of DC was tested and analysed using structural equation modelling (SEM) Analysis of Moment Structures (AMOS).
Findings
The regression findings of the study revealed that the techno-ethical orientation positively predicts the CEV. R-square values showed a 24.1% variation in corporate ethical value was explained by techno-ethical orientation. It indicates that a positive techno-ethical orientation establishes the ethical context and corporate values. Besides, the moderation analysis using SEM AMOS indicates that at both low and high levels of OR and OCE, the relationship between techno-ethical orientation and CEV is positive and significant.
Originality/value
This study demonstrates a new facet of technology ethics that promotes the institutionalisation of CEV through DC. This study is the first to explore the interaction between techno-ethical orientation and CEV. Even though various former factors concerning ethical conduct have been examined, the results of the techno-ethical conduct of employees within the scope of an organisation have not been explored so far.
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Giorgia Maria D'Allura, Andrea Calabrò and Marco Santangelo
The aim of this paper is to theorize on and empirically extend the understanding of the adoption of codes of ethics within the context of family firms. The authors contend that in…
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this paper is to theorize on and empirically extend the understanding of the adoption of codes of ethics within the context of family firms. The authors contend that in family firms the adoption of code of ethics is a process emerging from social interaction.
Design/methodology/approach
Through a multiple case study design the authors analyze family firms that have not yet adopted a code of ethics and untangle the process that could potentially lead to that choice.
Findings
The authors’ main finding suggests that the institutional context impacts on the adoption of codes of ethics. Furthermore, in first generation the adoption of codes of ethics is hindered by the presence of the founder and the existence of strong family ties. In subsequent generations as founder centrality is reduced the owning-family considers more the possibility to adopt such codes to preserve the family's reputation in the local community.
Research limitations/implications
First multiple views also from external stakeholders could be added; second, an international perspective using cross-country cases could add more nuances on how cultural and institutional aspects shape the adoption of codes of ethics differently across national contexts.
Practical implications
The authors’ findings inform family business owners on the importance of adopting code of ethics to support the formalization of the family value system.
Originality/value
The authors advance the debate on codes of ethics in family firms by disentangling the process through which those codes may be adopted to institutionalize and formalize the family values, history and tradition.
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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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With the growth and profound influence of technology on our life, it is important to address the ethical issues inherent to the development and deployment of technology…
Abstract
Purpose
With the growth and profound influence of technology on our life, it is important to address the ethical issues inherent to the development and deployment of technology. Researchers and practitioners submit the need to inspect: how technology and ethics interact, how ethical principles regulate technology and what could be the probable future course of action to execute techno-ethical practices in a socio-technical discourse effectively. To address the thoughts related to techno-ethics, the authors of the present study conducted exploratory research to understand the trend and relevance of technology ethics since its inception.
Design/methodology/approach
The study collected over 679 documents for the period 1990–2022 from the Scopus database. A quantitative approach of bibliometric analysis was conducted to study the pattern of authorship, publications, citations, prominent journals and contributors in the subject area. VOS viewer software was utilized to visualize and map academic performance in techno-ethics.
Findings
The findings revealed that the concept of techno-ethics is an emerging field and requires more investigation to harness its relevance with everchanging technology development. The data revealed substantial growth in the field of techno-ethics in humanities, social science and management domain in the last two decades. Also, most of the prominent cited references and documents in the database tend to cover the theme of Artificial Intelligence, Big data, computer ethics, morality, decision-making, IT ethics, human rights, responsibility and privacy.
Originality/value
The article provides a comprehensive overview of scientific production and main research trends in techno-ethics until 2022. The study is a pioneer in expanding the academic productivity and performance of embedding ethics in technology.
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Vivek Kumar and Arpita Srivastava
This paper aims to map the evolution of research in business ethics from 1991 to 2018. It aims to identify the major themes and how they have evolved. It also aims to identify…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to map the evolution of research in business ethics from 1991 to 2018. It aims to identify the major themes and how they have evolved. It also aims to identify gaps in the literature for recommending future research agenda.
Design/methodology/approach
This study uses co-word network analysis. Co-word network analysis is a bibliometric technique used to objectively identify research themes via article keywords. The study examines articles from 1991 to 2018, which is a span encompassing a greater number of articles than previous bibliometric studies in business ethics. This time span was split into four periods and major research themes were identified for each period to map the changes in research agendas in the business ethics discipline over time.
Findings
The findings point to increasing maturation of the discipline, a slight decline in ethical decision-making research, a rise in research at the intersection of leadership and ethics and exponential growth in studies on corporate social responsibility. Ethical issues in business-to-business contexts are understudied. Research in environmental disclosures and leadership is expected to grow in the future.
Originality/value
This is the first study in business ethics to use keywords for analyzing the evolution of a discipline. This study encompasses more articles than any other study in business ethics. Finally, this is the only study to use co-word network analysis to study business ethics literature.
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Araceli de los Ríos-Berjillos, Salud Millán-Lara, Ignacio Sepúlveda del Rio and Mercedes Ruiz-Lozano
This paper aims to analyse the role of the code of ethics as a critical element of responsible management and posits it as a tool that integrates ethics, sustainability and…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to analyse the role of the code of ethics as a critical element of responsible management and posits it as a tool that integrates ethics, sustainability and attention to stakeholders. This proposed tool can be a facilitator of integrated management of these dimensions.
Design/methodology/approach
A survey was developed to answer the research questions, and descriptive and factor analyses were carried out. A non-probabilistic sampling technique, purposive sampling, was used. The survey, sent by e-mail, was addressed to managers and decision makers of Spanish companies belonging to associations explicitly committed to corporate social responsibility and ethics; 73 questionnaires were answered. Statistical analyses were performed with SPSS 26.0 software.
Findings
The findings highlight that companies that are showing leadership in ethical management are using their codes of ethics as a key instrument in the business ethics strategy. Codes of ethics go beyond being a guide to ethical conduct to being an instrument at the service of stakeholder relations, sustainability and ethics. The keys that these companies agree on are the design of participative processes of responsible management, the multidimensional content of their codes of ethics and a code management oriented to generate a proactive ethical culture in the company.
Practical implications
This paper proposes a series of recommendations that may be useful to all those companies that wish to promote effective and integrative ethical management through their code of ethics, as much as if they already have one, as they are developing it.
Originality/value
This research highlights the role of code of ethics as an integrative tool for ethics, sustainability and stakeholder responsibility. For that, the keys that these companies agree on are the design of participative processes of responsible management, the multidimensional content of their codes of ethics and code management oriented to generate a proactive ethical culture in the company.
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Amitabh Anand, Melanie Bowen and Deva Rangarajan
Despite the prominence of ethics in mainstream marketing and sales literature, studies on the role of unethical sales practices remain sparse. As a result, we sought to fill this…
Abstract
Purpose
Despite the prominence of ethics in mainstream marketing and sales literature, studies on the role of unethical sales practices remain sparse. As a result, we sought to fill this void by reviewing and integrating the available research on unethical sales practices.
Design/methodology/approach
A systematic methodology is used to review the literature. The data study covered peer-reviewed journal publications from 2008 through 2020.
Findings
Our investigation uncovered patterns (situational ethical behavior, ethical sales organizational culture, ethical leadership of salespeople, and unethical behavior). We suggest promising avenues for further research by concluding our methodological and theoretical contribution.
Originality/value
Today’s sales profession is continually evolving, putting increased demand on salespeople to adapt to new norms. Salespeople may be enticed to engage in unethical sales tactics in these situations, endangering not just themselves, but also their organizations and clients. This research contributes to the unique nature of ethics among sales people.
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Shilpa Wadhwa, Parul Wadhwa and Fehmina Khalique
Purpose: The main aim is to explore and recognize productive ways to create human-centred designs (HCDs) for employee experience (EX). HCD is a concept that prioritizes the needs…
Abstract
Purpose: The main aim is to explore and recognize productive ways to create human-centred designs (HCDs) for employee experience (EX). HCD is a concept that prioritizes the needs, preferences, and behaviours of humans using the product or service. EX refers to all interactions an employee has with their employment lifespan – from recruitment to retirement. By taking the HCD approach to EX design, companies can create a work environment tailored to their employees’ needs and preferences.
Design / Methodology: The explorative research design to apply journey maps. By mapping out the employee journey, designers can identify pain points and areas for improvement.
Findings: The findings highlight that artificial intelligence and robotics are core components of designing HCD and can be applied to EX design. By prioritizing EX, companies can attract and retain top talent, increase employee engagement and productivity, and gain a competitive advantage.
Research Limitations: The study is developing and involves detailed insights from different companies, making it difficult and time-consuming to prepare a comprehensive report.
Practical Implications: The findings of the study will add value to other organizations to follow and develop policies and practices that make the employees cherish their work.
Originality: The chapter’s originality lies in providing a comprehensive understanding of HCD and EX. It emphasizes leveraging the strengths of both humans and bots for enhanced workforce experience and business growth. Exploring future automation and technology integration trends adds depth to the chapter’s contribution.
Despite the significance of a gender-diverse workforce, there is a lack of comprehensive review of gender diversity and women's career advancement literature. Moreover, past…
Abstract
Purpose
Despite the significance of a gender-diverse workforce, there is a lack of comprehensive review of gender diversity and women's career advancement literature. Moreover, past literature focuses on women-on-board and other subsets based on outcomes like firm financial and non-financial performance, corporate social performance and board interlocks. The purpose of this study is to examine the research on gender diversity and women's career advancement through an analysis of 143 articles published during past decade. Theoretical frameworks, contexts and constructs-based contribution to scholarship were reviewed. The authors attempt to highlight key theories, constructs and contexts and provide direction for future research.
Design/methodology/approach
A comprehensive systematic literature review of 143 articles spanning January 2008–March 2023 about gender diversity and women’s career advancement was conducted.
Findings
Majority of the past studies have focused on women on board and top management team, and most of them have been conducted in the context of the USA and China. There is no specific industry which has been covered extensively. Resource dependency, resource-based views and agency theories are the primary theoretical frameworks used in the past studies. Furthermore, these findings suggest the scope to further focus on women’s retention and career growth initiatives, especially at levels other than top levels, for a stronger leadership pipeline.
Originality/value
This study has been conducted with a focused analysis of the context, constructs and theoretical frameworks, enabling future researchers to decide how and where to focus, to now strengthen retention of women.
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