IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/kap/jbuset/v176y2022i1d10.1007_s10551-020-04726-8.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Can Corporate Ethics Programs Reduce Unethical Behavior? Threat Appraisal or Coping Appraisal

Author

Listed:
  • Taslima Jannat

    (Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS)

  • Syed Shah Alam

    (MAHSA University)

  • Yi-Hui Ho

    (Chang Jung Christian University)

  • Nor Asiah Omar

    (Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia)

  • Chieh-Yu Lin

    (Chang Jung Christian University)

Abstract

While a corporate ethics program is expected to reduce employees’ unethical behavior, understanding the effects of the ethics program elements on reducing the unethical behavior is a crucial issue. This study aims to explore how a corporate ethics program with multiple control elements, including punishment, monitoring, internal reporting, code of ethics, ethics support service and ethics training, influence employees’ threat appraisal process, coping appraisal process and unethical behavior at workplaces. The data to verify proposed research hypotheses were collected by administering questionnaire survey on four autonomous government organizations in Bangladesh. Research findings show that only punishment and monitoring have significantly negative relationships with unethical behavior. Monitoring and internal reporting have significantly positive relationships with threat appraisal. The code of ethics, ethics support service and ethics training are associated positively with coping appraisal. The mediation results reveal that coping appraisal mediates the relationship between ethics program elements and unethical behavior; but the mediation effects of threat appraisal are not significant. This study provides valuable insights into how a corporate ethics program with multiple control elements reduces employees’ unethical behavior as well as how employees’ threat and coping appraisal processes are related to the corporate ethics program and unethical behavior in organizations.

Suggested Citation

  • Taslima Jannat & Syed Shah Alam & Yi-Hui Ho & Nor Asiah Omar & Chieh-Yu Lin, 2022. "Can Corporate Ethics Programs Reduce Unethical Behavior? Threat Appraisal or Coping Appraisal," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 176(1), pages 37-53, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:jbuset:v:176:y:2022:i:1:d:10.1007_s10551-020-04726-8
    DOI: 10.1007/s10551-020-04726-8
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10551-020-04726-8
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s10551-020-04726-8?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. Insaf Békir & Sana El. Harbi & Gilles Grolleau & Naoufel Mzoughi & Angela Sutan, 2016. "The Impact of Monitoring and Sanctions on Cheating: Experimental Evidence from Tunisia," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 37(7), pages 461-473, October.
    2. Eyun-Jung Ki & Hong-Lim Choi & Junghyuk Lee, 2012. "Does Ethics Statement of a Public Relations Firm Make a Difference? Yes it Does!!," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 105(2), pages 267-276, January.
    3. Nicole Andreoli & Joel Lefkowitz, 2009. "Individual and Organizational Antecedents of Misconduct in Organizations," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 85(3), pages 309-332, March.
    4. Christian Hauser, 2020. "From Preaching to Behavioral Change: Fostering Ethics and Compliance Learning in the Workplace," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 162(4), pages 835-855, April.
    5. Andrew Harrison & James Summers & Brian Mennecke, 2018. "The Effects of the Dark Triad on Unethical Behavior," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 153(1), pages 53-77, November.
    6. Elodie Gentina & L. Shrum & Tina Lowrey, 2018. "Coping with Loneliness Through Materialism: Strategies Matter for Adolescent Development of Unethical Behaviors," Post-Print hal-01914749, HAL.
    7. Hengky Latan & Christian M. Ringle & Charbel Jose Chiappetta Jabbour, 2018. "Whistleblowing Intentions Among Public Accountants in Indonesia: Testing for the Moderation Effects," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 152(2), pages 573-588, October.
    8. 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.
    9. Elka Johansson & Peter Carey, 2016. "Detecting Fraud: The Role of the Anonymous Reporting Channel," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 139(2), pages 391-409, December.
    10. B. Elango & Karen Paul & Sumit Kundu & Shishir Paudel, 2010. "Organizational Ethics, Individual Ethics, and Ethical Intentions in International Decision-Making," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 97(4), pages 543-561, December.
    11. Chu Chen & Giorgio Gotti & Tony Kang & Michael C. Wolfe, 2018. "Corporate Codes of Ethics, National Culture, and Earnings Discretion: International Evidence," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 151(1), pages 141-163, August.
    12. 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.
    13. Chowdhury Saima Ferdous & Chris Mallin & Kean Ow-Yong, 2014. "Corporate Governance in Bangladesh: A Comparison with Other Emerging Market Countries," CSR, Sustainability, Ethics & Governance, in: Sabri Boubaker & Duc Khuong Nguyen (ed.), Corporate Governance in Emerging Markets, edition 127, pages 395-420, Springer.
    14. 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.
    15. 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.
    16. Wynne W. Chin & Barbara L. Marcolin & Peter R. Newsted, 2003. "A Partial Least Squares Latent Variable Modeling Approach for Measuring Interaction Effects: Results from a Monte Carlo Simulation Study and an Electronic-Mail Emotion/Adoption Study," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 14(2), pages 189-217, June.
    17. Elodie Gentina & L. J. Shrum & Tina M. Lowrey, 2018. "Coping with Loneliness Through Materialism: Strategies Matter for Adolescent Development of Unethical Behaviors," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 152(1), pages 103-122, September.
    18. Xinshu Zhao & John G. Lynch & Qimei Chen, 2010. "Reconsidering Baron and Kenny: Myths and Truths about Mediation Analysis," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 37(2), pages 197-206, August.
    19. James Weber & David Wasieleski, 2013. "Corporate Ethics and Compliance Programs: A Report, Analysis and Critique," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 112(4), pages 609-626, February.
    20. Warren, Danielle E. & Gaspar, Joseph P. & Laufer, William S., 2014. "Is Formal Ethics Training Merely Cosmetic? A Study of Ethics Training and Ethical Organizational Culture," Business Ethics Quarterly, Cambridge University Press, vol. 24(1), pages 85-117, January.
    21. 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.
    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. Alyahya, Mansour & Agag, Gomaa & Aliedan, Meqbel & Abdelmoety, Ziad H., 2023. "Understanding the factors affecting consumers’ behaviour when purchasing refurbished products: A chaordic perspective," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).
    2. Zhou, Chenxi & Zhang, Yameng & Bu, Maoliang, 2024. "Home country adverse political shocks and cross-border mergers and acquisitions financial performance of politically connected emerging market firms," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 33(3).
    3. Rita Paralta & Eduardo Simões & Ana Patrícia Duarte, 2023. "Subjective Well-Being in Organizations: Effects of Internal Ethical Context and Ethical Leadership," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(5), pages 1-17, March.

    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. Thomas Stöber & Peter Kotzian & Barbara E. Weißenberger, 2019. "Design matters: on the impact of compliance program design on corporate ethics," Business Research, Springer;German Academic Association for Business Research, vol. 12(2), pages 383-424, December.
    2. Giorgio Gotti & Tony Kang & Michael C. Wolfe & Yong Keun Yoo, 2023. "Corporate codes of ethics and cash holdings: International evidence," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 63(3), pages 3387-3418, September.
    3. Maira Babri & Bruce Davidson & Sven Helin, 2021. "An Updated Inquiry into the Study of Corporate Codes of Ethics: 2005–2016," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 168(1), pages 71-108, January.
    4. 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.
    5. Stephanie Kelley, 2022. "Employee Perceptions of the Effective Adoption of AI Principles," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 178(4), pages 871-893, July.
    6. Bram Constandt & Els Waegeneer & Annick Willem, 2019. "Ethical Code Effectiveness in Football Clubs: A Longitudinal Analysis," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 156(3), pages 621-634, May.
    7. Guillem C. Cabana & Muel Kaptein, 2021. "Team Ethical Cultures Within an Organization: A Differentiation Perspective on Their Existence and Relevance," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 170(4), pages 761-780, May.
    8. Donna Harris & Oana Borcan & Danila Serra & Henry Telli & Bruno Schettini & Stefan Dercon, 2022. "Proud to belong: The impact of ethics training on police officers," CSAE Working Paper Series 2022-05, Centre for the Study of African Economies, University of Oxford.
    9. Harris, Donna & Borcan , Oana & Serra, Danila & Telli, Henry & Schettini, Bruno & Dercon, Stefan, 2024. "Proud to Belong: The Impact of Ethics Training on Police Officers in Ghana," CEPR Discussion Papers 19141, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    10. Chu Chen & Giorgio Gotti & Tony Kang & Michael C. Wolfe, 2018. "Corporate Codes of Ethics, National Culture, and Earnings Discretion: International Evidence," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 151(1), pages 141-163, August.
    11. Spenser G. Seifert & Ethan G. LaMothe & Donna Bobek Schmitt, 2023. "Perceptions of the Ethical Infrastructure, Professional Autonomy, and Ethical Judgments in Accounting Work Environments," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 182(3), pages 821-850, January.
    12. Connie Bateman & Sean Valentine & Terri Rittenburg, 2013. "Ethical Decision Making in a Peer-to-Peer File Sharing Situation: The Role of Moral Absolutes and Social Consensus," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 115(2), pages 229-240, June.
    13. Christian Hauser, 2019. "Fighting Against Corruption: Does Anti-corruption Training Make Any Difference?," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 159(1), pages 281-299, September.
    14. Ben Khaled, Wafa & Gérard, Benoît & Farjaudon, Anne-Laure, 2022. "Analysis of the political and identity dynamics of a dominant mode of control: The case of business ethics control and its legalization," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
    15. Justina Sidlauskiene & Yannick Joye & Vilte Auruskeviciene, 2023. "AI-based chatbots in conversational commerce and their effects on product and price perceptions," Electronic Markets, Springer;IIM University of St. Gallen, vol. 33(1), pages 1-21, December.
    16. Juliana Toro-Arias & Pablo Ruiz-Palomino & María Pilar Rodríguez-Córdoba, 2022. "Measuring Ethical Organizational Culture: Validation of the Spanish Version of the Shortened Corporate Ethical Virtues Model," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 176(3), pages 551-574, March.
    17. Yuan, Yang & Feng, Bo & Lai, Fujun & Collins, Brian J., 2018. "The role of trust, commitment, and learning orientation on logistic service effectiveness," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 93(C), pages 37-50.
    18. Alyahya, Mansour & Agag, Gomaa & Aliedan, Meqbel & Abdelmoety, Ziad H., 2023. "A cross-cultural investigation of the relationship between eco-innovation and customers boycott behaviour," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    19. Ana Lanero & José-Luis Vázquez & César Sahelices-Pinto, 2020. "Heuristic Thinking and Credibility of Organic Advertising Claims: The Role of Knowledge and Motivations," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(21), pages 1-19, October.
    20. 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.

    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:176:y:2022:i:1:d:10.1007_s10551-020-04726-8. 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.