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(A)moral Agents in Organisations? The Significance of Ethical Organisation Culture for Middle Managers’ Exercise of Moral Agency in Ethical Problems

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Abstract

This paper investigates qualitatively the significance of different dimensions of ethical organisation culture for the exercise of middle managers’ moral agency in ethical problems. The research draws on the social cognitive theory of morality and on the corporate ethical virtues model. This study broadens understanding of the factors which enable or constrain managers’ potential for moral agency in organisations, and shows that an insufficient ethical organisational culture may contribute to indifference towards ethical issues, the experiencing of moral conflicts, lack of self-efficacy and morally disengaged reasoning. In contrast, a healthy ethical culture can contribute to motivation to tackle ethical problems, an increased capacity for self-regulation and ultimately ethical behaviour.

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Acknowledgements

This study was funded by the Foundation for Economic Education (Grant Number 150102.).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Business, JAMK University of Applied Sciences, Rajakatu 35, 40200, Jyväskylä, Finland

    Minna-Maaria Hiekkataipale

  2. JSBE Jyväskylä University School of Business and Economics, Ohjelmakaari 10, 40014, Jyväskylä, Finland

    Minna-Maaria Hiekkataipale & Anna-Maija Lämsä

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  1. Minna-Maaria Hiekkataipale
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  2. Anna-Maija Lämsä
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Correspondence to Minna-Maaria Hiekkataipale.

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Minna-Maaria Hiekkataipale declares that she has no conflict of interest. Anna-Maija Lämsä declares that she has no conflict of interest.

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All procedures performed in this study were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments, or comparable ethical standards. Individual informed consent was obtained from all the participants in the study. The authors declare that no conflict of interest exists.

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Hiekkataipale, MM., Lämsä, AM. (A)moral Agents in Organisations? The Significance of Ethical Organisation Culture for Middle Managers’ Exercise of Moral Agency in Ethical Problems. J Bus Ethics 155, 147–161 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-017-3511-9

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