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Codes, Ethics and Cross-Cultural Differences: Stories from the Implementation of a Corporate Code of Ethics in a MNC Subsidiary

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Abstract

In this article, we focus on the cross- cultural aspects of the implementation of an American company’s code of ethics into its Swedish subsidiary. We identify the cross-cultural stories that the receivers in the subsidiary use when trying to explain the parent’s code and conceptualize these stories as part of an emerging narrative of national belonging and differences. The receivers resisted the code by amplifying the importance of national identity. Rather than stimulating a discussion on ethics that might have strengthened the ties between the parent and the subsidiary, the outcome of the code implementation had the opposite effect. The article concludes by stressing the process of implementing codes across cultures rather than code content.

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Acknowledgements

An extended abstract was presented at The 19 th Nordic Academy of Management Conference, Bergen, Norway, 9–11 August, and the full paper was presented at The European Business Ethics Network Annual Conference, Leuven, Belgium, 18–19 September. We like to thank the participants at these presentations, and our colleague Owe L Johansson, for their helpful comments. Without the support from the Swedish Council for Working Life and Social Research, this research would not have been possible.

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  1. Swedish Business School, Örebro University, SE-701 82, Orebro, Sweden

    Sven Helin & Johan Sandström

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  1. Sven Helin
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  2. Johan Sandström
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Correspondence to Sven Helin.

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Helin, S., Sandström, J. Codes, Ethics and Cross-Cultural Differences: Stories from the Implementation of a Corporate Code of Ethics in a MNC Subsidiary. J Bus Ethics 82, 281–291 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-008-9887-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-008-9887-9

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