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Good Without Knowing it: Subtle Contextual Cues can Activate Moral Identity and Reshape Moral Intuition

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  • Keith Leavitt

    (Oregon State University College of Business)

  • Lei Zhu

    (University of Manitoba)

  • Karl Aquino

    (University of British Columbia)

Abstract

The role of moral intuition (i.e., a set of implicit processes which occur automatically and at the fringe of conscious awareness) has been increasingly implicated in business decisions and (un)ethical business behavior. But troublingly, because implicit processes often operate outside of conscious awareness, decision makers are generally unaware of their influence. We tested whether subtle contextual cues for identity can alter implicit beliefs. In two studies, we found that contextual cues which nonconsciously prime moral identity weaken the implicit association between the categories of “business” and “ethical,” an implicit association which has previously been linked to unethical decision making. Further, changes in this implicit association mediated the relationship between contextually primed moral identity and concern for external stakeholder groups, regardless of self-reported moral identity. Thus, our results show that subtle contextual cues can lead individuals to render more ethical judgments, by automatically restructuring moral intuition below the level of consciousness.

Suggested Citation

  • Keith Leavitt & Lei Zhu & Karl Aquino, 2016. "Good Without Knowing it: Subtle Contextual Cues can Activate Moral Identity and Reshape Moral Intuition," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 137(4), pages 785-800, September.
  • Handle: RePEc:kap:jbuset:v:137:y:2016:i:4:d:10.1007_s10551-015-2746-6
    DOI: 10.1007/s10551-015-2746-6
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Shao, Ruodan & Aquino, Karl & Freeman, Dan, 2008. "Beyond Moral Reasoning: A Review of Moral Identity Research and Its Implications for Business Ethics," Business Ethics Quarterly, Cambridge University Press, vol. 18(4), pages 513-540, October.
    2. Eric Luis Uhlmann & Keith Leavitt & Jochen I. Menges & Michael Howe & Russell E. Johnson & Joel Koopman, 2012. "Getting Explicit About the Implicit: A Taxonomy of Implicit Measures and Guide for Their Use in Organizational Research," Post-Print hal-00743353, HAL.
    3. Caza, Brianna Barker & Tiedens, Larissa & Lee, Fiona, 2011. "Power becomes you: The effects of implicit and explicit power on the self," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 114(1), pages 15-24, January.
    4. Eric Luis Uhlmann & Anthony Greenwald & Andrew Poehlmann & Mahzarin Banaji, 2009. "Understanding and Using the Implicit Association Test: III. Meta-Analysis of Predictive Validity," Post-Print hal-00516146, HAL.
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    Cited by:

    1. Laura J. Noval & Morela Hernandez, 2019. "The Unwitting Accomplice: How Organizations Enable Motivated Reasoning and Self-Serving Behavior," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 157(3), pages 699-713, July.
    2. Salar Mesdaghinia & Debra L. Shapiro & Robert Eisenberger, 2022. "Prohibitive Voice as a Moral Act: The Role of Moral Identity, Leaders, and Workgroups," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 180(1), pages 297-311, September.
    3. Nicholas Burton & Mai Chi Vu, 2021. "Moral Identity and the Quaker tradition: Moral Dissonance Negotiation in the WorkPlace," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 174(1), pages 127-141, November.
    4. Na Yang & Congcong Lin & Zhenyu Liao & Mei Xue, 2022. "When Moral Tension Begets Cognitive Dissonance: An Investigation of Responses to Unethical Pro-Organizational Behavior and the Contingent Effect of Construal Level," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 180(1), pages 339-353, September.
    5. Chen, Fan Xuan & Graso, Maja & Aquino, Karl & Lin, Lily & Cheng, Joey T. & DeCelles, Katherine & Vadera, Abhijeet K., 2022. "The vigilante identity and organizations," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 170(C).
    6. Julia Zwank & Marjo-Riitta Diehl & Mario Gollwitzer, 2024. "The Corporate Samaritan: Advancing Understanding of the Role of Deontic Motive in Justice Enactment," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 190(3), pages 607-623, March.
    7. Clark H. Warner & Marion Fortin & Tessa Melkonian, 2024. "When Are We More Ethical? A Review and Categorization of the Factors Influencing Dual-Process Ethical Decision-Making," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 189(4), pages 843-882, February.
    8. Yibin Li & Guiqing Zhang & Longjun Liu, 2021. "Platform Corporate Social Responsibility and Employee Innovation Performance: A Cross-Layer Study Mediated by Employee Intrapreneurship," SAGE Open, , vol. 11(2), pages 21582440211, June.
    9. Lianying Zhang & Xiaocan Li & Ziqing Liu, 2022. "Fostering Constructive Deviance by Leader Moral Humility: The Mediating Role of Employee Moral Identity and Moderating Role of Normative Conflict," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 180(2), pages 731-746, October.
    10. Bhatti, Zeeshan Ahmed & Arain, Ghulam Ali & Akram, Muhammad Shakaib & Fang, Yu-Hui & Yasin, Hina Mahboob, 2020. "Constructive voice behavior for social change on social networking sites: A reflection of moral identity," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 157(C).

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