IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/kap/jbuset/v136y2016i1d10.1007_s10551-014-2505-0.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Moral of the Story: Re-framing Ethical Codes of Conduct as Narrative Processes

Author

Listed:
  • Matt Statler

    (NYU Stern School of Business)

  • David Oliver

    (The University of Sydney Business School)

Abstract

This paper re-frames business ethical codes (BCEs) as narrative processes by reflecting critically on key ontological assumptions underpinning the existing research, and introducing new and relevant concepts based on alternative assumptions. The first section draws on recent decision-making research to develop a theoretical account of BCEs as complex, socially embedded sensemaking processes. The second section addresses the content of codes, and differentiates between narrative and logico-scientific modes of reasoning. The third section focuses on the quality of code communication and identifies several distinct types of narrative process. We provide research directions for how this new understanding of BCEs may be further developed, as well as implications for practitioners. In response to the call for new conceptual models (O’Fallon and Butterfield, in J Bus Ethics 59:375–413, 2005), the paper provides organizational researchers with a more nuanced understanding of how BCEs enable or constrain ethical behavior in organizations.

Suggested Citation

  • Matt Statler & David Oliver, 2016. "The Moral of the Story: Re-framing Ethical Codes of Conduct as Narrative Processes," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 136(1), pages 89-100, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:jbuset:v:136:y:2016:i:1:d:10.1007_s10551-014-2505-0
    DOI: 10.1007/s10551-014-2505-0
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10551-014-2505-0
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s10551-014-2505-0?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Gigerenzer, Gerd & Todd, Peter M. & ABC Research Group,, 2000. "Simple Heuristics That Make Us Smart," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780195143812.
    2. Gabriel, Yiannis, 2000. "Storytelling in Organizations: Facts, Fictions, and Fantasies," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780198297062.
    3. Lutz Preuss & David Dawson, 2009. "On the Quality and Legitimacy of Green Narratives in Business: A Framework for Evaluation," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 84(1), pages 135-149, January.
    4. Koehn, Daryl, 1995. "A Role for Virtue Ethics in the Analysis of Business Practice," Business Ethics Quarterly, Cambridge University Press, vol. 5(3), pages 533-539, July.
    5. Ann Langley & Henry Mintzberg & Patricia Pitcher & Elizabeth Posada & Jan Saint-Macary, 1995. "Opening up Decision Making: The View from the Black Stool," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 6(3), pages 260-279, June.
    6. Muel Kaptein, 2011. "Toward Effective Codes: Testing the Relationship with Unethical Behavior," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 99(2), pages 233-251, March.
    7. Treviño, Linda Klebe & Weaver, Gary R., 2001. "Organizational Justice and Ethics Program “Follow-Through”: Influences on Employees’ Harmful and Helpful Behavior," Business Ethics Quarterly, Cambridge University Press, vol. 11(4), pages 651-671, October.
    8. Solomon, Robert C., 1992. "Corporate Roles, Personal Virtues: An Aristotelean Approach to Business Ethics," Business Ethics Quarterly, Cambridge University Press, vol. 2(3), pages 317-339, July.
    9. Janet Adams & Armen Tashchian & Ted Shore, 2001. "Codes of Ethics as Signals for Ethical Behavior," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 29(3), pages 199-211, February.
    10. Hans-Jörg Schlierer & Andrea Werner & Silvana Signori & Elisabeth Garriga & Heidi Weltzien Hoivik & Annick Rossem & Yves Fassin, 2012. "How Do European SME Owner–Managers Make Sense of ‘Stakeholder Management’?: Insights from a Cross-National Study," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 109(1), pages 39-51, August.
    11. McCabe, Donald L. & Trevino, Linda Klebe & Butterfield, Kenneth D., 1996. "The Influence of Collegiate and Corporate Codes of Conduct on Ethics-Related Behavior in the Workplace," Business Ethics Quarterly, Cambridge University Press, vol. 6(4), pages 461-476, October.
    12. Weaver, Gary R. & Treviño, Linda Klebe, 1999. "Compliance and Values Oriented Ethics Programs: Influenceson Employees’ Attitudes and Behavior," Business Ethics Quarterly, Cambridge University Press, vol. 9(2), pages 315-335, April.
    13. Scott Sonenshein & Utpal Dholakia, 2012. "Explaining Employee Engagement with Strategic Change Implementation: A Meaning-Making Approach," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 23(1), pages 1-23, February.
    14. Dennis A. Gioia & Kumar Chittipeddi, 1991. "Sensemaking and sensegiving in strategic change initiation," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 12(6), pages 433-448, September.
    15. Ikujiro Nonaka, 1994. "A Dynamic Theory of Organizational Knowledge Creation," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 5(1), pages 14-37, February.
    16. Renu Desai & Robin Roberts, 2013. "Deficiencies in the Code of Conduct: The AICPA Rhetoric Surrounding the Tax Return Preparation Outsourcing Disclosure Rules," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 114(3), pages 457-471, May.
    17. Raghu Garud & Roger L. M. Dunbar & Caroline A. Bartel, 2011. "Dealing with Unusual Experiences: A Narrative Perspective on Organizational Learning," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 22(3), pages 587-601, June.
    18. Greenberg, Jerald, 2002. "Who stole the money, and when? Individual and situational determinants of employee theft," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 89(1), pages 985-1003, September.
    19. Muel Kaptein & Mark Schwartz, 2008. "The Effectiveness of Business Codes: A Critical Examination of Existing Studies and the Development of an Integrated Research Model," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 77(2), pages 111-127, January.
    20. Solomon, Robert C., 2003. "Victims of Circumstances? A Defense of Virtue Ethics in Business," Business Ethics Quarterly, Cambridge University Press, vol. 13(1), pages 43-62, January.
    21. Moberg, Dennis J., 2007. "Practical Wisdom and Business Ethics," Business Ethics Quarterly, Cambridge University Press, vol. 17(03), pages 535-561, July.
    22. Linda Rouleau, 2005. "Micro‐Practices of Strategic Sensemaking and Sensegiving: How Middle Managers Interpret and Sell Change Every Day," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 42(7), pages 1413-1441, November.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Daryl Koehn, 2024. "Narrative Business Ethics Versus Narratives Within Business Ethics: Problems and Possibilities From an Aristotelian Virtue Ethics Perspective," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 189(4), pages 763-779, February.
    2. Andrea Kampmann & Burkhard Pedell, 2022. "Using Storytelling to Promote Organizational Resilience: An Experimental Study of Different Forms of Risk Communication," Schmalenbach Journal of Business Research, Springer, vol. 74(4), pages 695-725, December.
    3. Ewa Lombard & Rajna N. GibsonBrandon, 2024. "Do Wealth Managers Understand Codes of Conduct and Their Ethical Dilemmas? Lessons from an Online Survey," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 189(3), pages 553-572, January.
    4. Simon, Françoise & Tossan, Vesselina, 2018. "Does brand-consumer social sharing matter? A relational framework of customer engagement to brand-hosted social media," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 85(C), pages 175-184.
    5. Dean Neu & Gregory D. Saxton, 2023. "Building Ethical Narratives: The Audiences for AICPA Editorials," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 182(4), pages 1055-1072, February.
    6. Radka MacGregor Pelikánová & Robert Kenyon MacGregor & Martin Èernek, 2021. "New trends in codes of ethics: Czech business ethics preferences by the dawn of COVID-19," Oeconomia Copernicana, Institute of Economic Research, vol. 12(4), pages 973-1009, December.
    7. Rosa Chun, 2019. "How Virtuous Global Firms Say They Are: A Content Analysis of Ethical Values," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 155(1), pages 57-73, March.
    8. Valentine, Sean & Godkin, Lynn, 2019. "Moral intensity, ethical decision making, and whistleblowing intention," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 98(C), pages 277-288.
    9. Adam P. Balcerzak & Radka MacGregor Pelikánová, 2020. "Projection of SDGs in Codes of Ethics—Case Study about Lost in Translation," Administrative Sciences, MDPI, vol. 10(4), pages 1-18, November.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Muel Kaptein, 2015. "The Effectiveness of Ethics Programs: The Role of Scope, Composition, and Sequence," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 132(2), pages 415-431, December.
    2. Tammy E. Beck & Donde Ashmos Plowman, 2009. "Experiencing Rare and Unusual Events Richly: The Role of Middle Managers in Animating and Guiding Organizational Interpretation," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 20(5), pages 909-924, October.
    3. Jang Singh, 2011. "Determinants of the Effectiveness of Corporate Codes of Ethics: An Empirical Study," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 101(3), pages 385-395, July.
    4. Xiaolin Lin & Paul F. Clay & Nick Hajli & Majid Dadgar, 2018. "Investigating the Impacts of Organizational Factors on Employees’ Unethical Behavior Within Organization in the Context of Chinese Firms," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 150(3), pages 779-791, July.
    5. Andrew Abela & Ryan Shea, 2015. "Avoiding the Separation Thesis While Maintaining a Positive/Normative Distinction," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 131(1), pages 31-41, September.
    6. David Oliver & Matthew Statler & Johan Roos, 2010. "A Meta-Ethical Perspective on Organizational Identity," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 94(3), pages 427-440, July.
    7. Constantin Blome & Antony Paulraj, 2013. "Ethical Climate and Purchasing Social Responsibility: A Benevolence Focus," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 116(3), pages 567-585, September.
    8. Andrew West, 2018. "After Virtue and Accounting Ethics," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 148(1), pages 21-36, March.
    9. Marina Balboa & Germán López-Espinosa & Antonio Rubia, 2012. "Non-linear Dynamics in Discretionary Accruals: An Analysis of Bank Loan-Loss Provisions," Faculty Working Papers 07/12, School of Economics and Business Administration, University of Navarra.
    10. Guiette, Alain & Vandenbempt, Koen, 2013. "Exploring team mental model dynamics during strategic change implementation in professional service organizations. A sensemaking perspective," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 31(6), pages 728-744.
    11. Els Waegeneer & Jeroen Sompele & Annick Willem, 2016. "Ethical Codes in Sports Organizations: Classification Framework, Content Analysis, and the Influence of Content on Code Effectiveness," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 136(3), pages 587-598, July.
    12. Evangelia Pappa & John Filos, 2019. "Benchmarking the Ethics of Internal Auditors: A Comparative Analysis of Private and Public Sector," SPOUDAI Journal of Economics and Business, SPOUDAI Journal of Economics and Business, University of Piraeus, vol. 69(1-2), pages 30-44, January-J.
    13. Virginia Bodolica & Martin Spraggon, 2015. "An Examination into the Disclosure, Structure, and Contents of Ethical Codes in Publicly Listed Acquiring Firms," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 126(3), pages 459-472, February.
    14. Vitolla, Filippo & Raimo, Nicola & Rubino, Michele & Garegnani, Giovanni Maria, 2021. "Do cultural differences impact ethical issues? Exploring the relationship between national culture and quality of code of ethics," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 27(1).
    15. Guillaume Mercier & Ghislain Deslandes, 2017. "There are no Codes, Only Interpretations. Practical Wisdom and Hermeneutics in Monastic Organizations," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 145(4), pages 781-794, November.
    16. Dulce Redín & Reyes Calderón & Ignacio Ferrero, 2014. "Exploring the Ethical Dimension of Hawala," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 124(2), pages 327-337, October.
    17. Lauren Kleynjans & Marek Hudon, 2016. "A Study of Codes of Ethics for Mexican Microfinance Institutions," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 134(3), pages 397-412, March.
    18. Anna Remišová & Anna Lašáková & Zuzana Kirchmayer, 2019. "Influence of Formal Ethics Program Components on Managerial Ethical Behavior," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 160(1), pages 151-166, November.
    19. Sean R. Valentine & Sheila K. Hanson & Gary M. Fleischman, 2019. "The Presence of Ethics Codes and Employees’ Internal Locus of Control, Social Aversion/Malevolence, and Ethical Judgment of Incivility: A Study of Smaller Organizations," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 160(3), pages 657-674, December.
    20. Oyku Arkan & Mahak Nagpal & Tobey K. Scharding & Danielle E. Warren, 2023. "Don’t Just Trust Your Gut: The Importance of Normative Deliberation to Ethical Decision-Making at Work," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 186(2), pages 257-277, August.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:kap:jbuset:v:136:y:2016:i:1:d:10.1007_s10551-014-2505-0. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.