When Organizations Don’t Walk Their Talk: A Cross-Level Examination of How Decoupling Formal Ethics Programs Affects Organizational Members

Tammy MacLean; Barrie E. Litzky; D. Kip Holderness

doi:10.1007/s10551-014-2103-1

When Organizations Don’t Walk Their Talk: A Cross-Level Examination of How Decoupling Formal Ethics Programs Affects Organizational Members

Tammy MacLean, Barrie E. Litzky, D. Kip Holderness

Management Division (Great Valley)

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

77 Scopus citations

Abstract

This research illustrates dangers inherent in the gap created when organizations decouple ethics program adoption from implementation. Using a sample of 182 professionals in the pharmaceutical and financial services industries, we examine the relationship between structural decoupling of formal ethics programs and individual-level perceptions and behavior. Findings strongly support the hypothesized relationships between decoupling and organizational members’ legitimacy perceptions of the ethics program, psychological contract breach, organizational cynicism, and unethical behavior.

Original language	English (US)
Pages (from-to)	351-368
Number of pages	18
Journal	Journal of Business Ethics
Volume	128
Issue number	2
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-014-2103-1
State	Published - May 1 2015

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

Business and International Management
General Business, Management and Accounting
Arts and Humanities (miscellaneous)
Economics and Econometrics
Law

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10.1007/s10551-014-2103-1

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When Organizations Don’t Walk Their Talk: A Cross-Level Examination of How Decoupling Formal Ethics Programs Affects Organizational Members

Abstract

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

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