Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Toward an understanding of ethical climate: Its relationship to ethical behavior and supervisory influence

  • Published:
Journal of Business Ethics Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

In recent years, theoretical and empirical developments in the area of organizational climate has provided the impetus for research concerning ethical climate. According to this latter research, ethical climate is a multi-dimensional construct which is manifested in organizations. Studies, however, have not focused on the relationship between ethical climate and ethical behavior. Furthermore, an enhanced understanding of the multi-dimensionality of ethical climate will likely advance what we know about organizational climate and culture in general. We propose further examination of ethical climate by: (1) showing the conceptual relationship between ethical climate and ethical (or unethical) behavior in organizations; and (2) examining supervision as one of the principle influences on ethical climate and concomitant subordinate behavior. Finally, we explore the implications for future research on ethical climate.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Abbey, A. and J. W. Dickson: 1983, ‘R&D Work Climate and Innovation in Semiconductors’,Academy of Management Journal 26(2), 362–368.

    Google Scholar 

  • Andrews, K. R.: 1989, ‘Ethics in Practice’,Harvard Business Review Sept.–Oct., 99–104.

  • Baumhart, S. J.: 1961, ‘How Ethical are Businessmen?’Harvard Business Review 39, 6–9.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brenner, S. N. and E. A. Molander: 1977, ‘Is the Ethics of Business Changing?’,Harvard Business Review 55, 57–71.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cascio, W. F.: 1991,Costing Human Resources: The Financial Impact of Behavior in Organizations, 3rd ed. (PWS-Kent Publishing Company, Boston, Mass.).

    Google Scholar 

  • Congress of the United States Office of Technology Assessment: 1990,The Use of Integrity Tests for Pre-employment Screening, OTA-SET-442 (U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C.).

    Google Scholar 

  • Cullen, J. B., B. Victor and C. Stephens: 1989, ‘An Ethical Weather Report: Assessing the Organization's Ethical Climate’,Organizational Dynamics, 50–62.

  • Dansereau, F., J. A. Alutto and F. J. Yammarino: 1984,Theory Testing in Organizational Behavior: The Variant Approach (Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ).

    Google Scholar 

  • Dansereau, F. and S. Markham: 1987, ‘Levels of Analysis in Personnel and Human Resources Management’, in K. Rowland and J. Ferris (eds.),Research in Personnel and Human Resources (Sage, Newbury Park, CA).

    Google Scholar 

  • Delaney, J. T. and D. Sockell: 1992, ‘Do Company Ethics Training Programs Make a Difference? An Empirical Analysis’,Journal of Business Ethics 11, 719–727.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dieterly, D. and B. Schneider: 1974, ‘The Effect of Organizational Environment on Perceived Power and Climate: A Laboratory Study’,Organizational Behavior and Human Performance 11, 316–337.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Field, R. H. G. and M. A. Abelson: 1982, ‘Climate: A Reconceptualization and Proposed Model’,Human Relations 5, 181–201.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fleishman, E. A.: 1953, ‘Leadership Climate, Human Relations Training, and Supervisory Behavior’,Personnel Psychology, 205–222.

  • Frederiksen, N., O. Jensen and A. E. Beaton: 1972,Prediction of Organizational Behavior (Pergamon, Elmsford, N.Y.).

    Google Scholar 

  • Glick, W.: 1985, ‘Conceptualizing and Measuring Organizational and Psychological Climate: Pitfalls in Multi-Level Research’,Academy of Management Review 11, 601–616.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gouldner, A. W.: 1957, ‘Cosmopolitans and Locals: Toward an Analysis of Latent Social Roles’,Administrative Science Quarterly 2, 281–306.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hannan, M. T. and J. H. Freeman: 1976, ‘The Population Ecology of Organization’,American Journal of Sociology 82, 929–964.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hegarty, W. H. and H. P. Sims, Jr.: 1978, ‘Some Determinants of Unethical Decision Behavior: An Experiment’,Journal of Applied Psychology 63(4), 451–457.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hegarty, W. H. and H. P. Sims, Jr.: 1979, ‘Organizational Philosophy, Policies, and Objectives Related to Unethical Decision Behavior. A Laboratory Experiment’,Journal of Applied Psychology 64(3), 331–338.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ilgen, D. and J. Feldman: 1983, ‘Performance Appraisal: A Process Focus’, in L. L. Cummings and B. M. Staw (eds.),Research in Organizational Behavior (JAI Press, Greenwich, CT), pp. 147–197.

    Google Scholar 

  • James, L. R. and A. P. Jones: 1974, ‘Organizational Climate: A Review of Theory and Research’,Psychological Bulletin P1, 1096–1112.

    Google Scholar 

  • James, L., W. F. Joyce and J. W. Slocum: 1987, ‘Comment: Organizations Do Not Cognize’,Academy of Management Review 13, 129–132.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jones, A. and L. James: 1979, ‘Psychological Climate: Dimensions of and Relationships of Individual and Aggregated Work Environment Perception’,Organizational Behavior and Human Performance 23, 201–250.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Joyce, W. F. and J. W. Slocum, Jr.: 1984, ‘Collective Climate: Agreement as a Basis for Defining Aggregate Climates in Organizations’,Academy of Management Journal 27(4), 721–742.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kohlberg, L.: 1984,The Philosophy of Moral Development (Harper & Row, New York).

    Google Scholar 

  • Labor letter: 1986, July 29,Wall Street Journal, p. 1.

  • Landy, F. J., and J. L. Farr: 1983,The Measurement of Work Performance: Methods, Theory, and Applications (Academic Press, New York).

    Google Scholar 

  • Lewin, K., R. Lippitt and R. K. White: 1939, ‘Patterns of Aggressive Behavior in Experimentally Created Social Climates’,Journal of Social Psychology 10, 271–299.

    Google Scholar 

  • Likert, R.: 1961,New Patterns of Management (McGraw-Hill, New York).

    Google Scholar 

  • Litwin, G. H. and R. A. Stringer: 1968,Motivation and Organizational Climate (Harvard Business School, Division of Research, Boston).

    Google Scholar 

  • McKee, G. H.: 1988,Multi-Level Investigation of Absence Climate: Individuals, Supervisory Groups, and Plants, Unpublished dissertation (Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA).

    Google Scholar 

  • Mead, G. H.: 1934,Mind, Self, and Society, ed. Charles W. Morris (University of Chicago Press, Chicago).

    Google Scholar 

  • Moser, M. R.: 1988, ‘Ethical Conflict at Work: A Critique of the Literature and Recommendations for Future Research’,Journal of Business Ethics 7, 381–387.

    Google Scholar 

  • Posner, B. Z., J. M. Kouzes and W. H. Schmidt: 1985, ‘Shared Values Make a Difference: An Empirical Test of Corporate Culture’,Human Resource Management 24(3), 293–309.

    Google Scholar 

  • Posner, B. and W. Schmidt: 1982, ‘What Kind of People Enter the Public and Private Sectors? An Updated Comparison of Perceptions, Stereotypes, and Values’,Human Resource Management 21, 35–43.

    Google Scholar 

  • Posner, B. Z. and W. H. Schmidt: 1984, ‘Values and the American Manager: An Update’,California Management Review 26(3), 202–216.

    Google Scholar 

  • Powell, G. N. and D. A. Butterfield: 1978, ‘The Case for Subsystem Climates in Organizations’,Academy of Management Review, 151–157.

  • Rachels, J.: 1992,The Elements of Moral Philosophy, 2nd ed. (Random House, New York).

    Google Scholar 

  • Rousseau, D. M.: 1985, ‘Issues of Level in Organizational Research: Multi-Level and Cross-Level Perspectives’,Research in Organizational Behavior 7, 1–37.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schein, E.: 1985,Organizational Culture and Leadership: A Dynamic View (Jossey-Bass, San Francisco, CA).

    Google Scholar 

  • Schneider, B.: 1975, ‘Organizational Climate: An Essay’,Personnel Psychology 28, 447–479.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schneider, B., J. J. Parkington and V. M. Buxton: 1980, ‘Employee and Customer Perception of Service in Banks’,Administrative Science Quarterly 25, 252–267.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schneider, B. and A. E. Reichers: 1983, ‘On the Etiology of Climates’,Personnel Psychology 36, 19–36.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tyagi, P. K.: 1985, ‘Relative Importance of Key Job Dimensions and Leadership Behaviors in Motivating Salesperson Work Performance’,Journal of Marketing 49, 76–86.

    Google Scholar 

  • Victor, B. and J. B. Cullen: 1987, ‘A Theory and Measure of Ethical Climate in Organizations’,Research in Corporate Social Performance and Policy 9, 51–71.

    Google Scholar 

  • Victor, B. and J. B. Cullen: 1988, ‘The Organizational Bases of Ethical Work Climates’,Administrative Science Quarterly 33, 101–125.

    Google Scholar 

  • Walker, O. C., G. A. Churchill and N. M. Ford: 1979, ‘Where Do We Go from Here? Selected Conceptual and Empirical Issues Concerning the Motivation and Performance of the Industrial Sales Force’, in G. Albuam and G.A. Churchill (eds.),Critical Issues in Sales Management: State of the Art and Future Research Needs (University of Oregon Press, Eugene, OR), pp. 10–75.

    Google Scholar 

  • White, R. and R. Lippitt: 1968, ‘Leader Behavior and Member Reaction in Three “Social Climates”’, in D. Cartwright and A. Zander (eds.),Group Dynamics: Research and Theory, 3 ed. (Harper & Row, New York).

    Google Scholar 

  • Yammarino, F. J. and A. J. Dubinsky: 1990, ‘Salesperson Performance and Managerially Controllable Factors: An Investigation of Individual and Work Group Effects’,Journal of Management 16(1), 87–106.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zey-Ferrell, M. and O. C. Ferrell: 1982, ‘Role-Set Configuration and Opportunity as Predictors of Unethical Behavior in Organizations’,Human Relations 35(7), 587–604.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zey-Ferrell, M., K. M. Weaver and O. C. Ferrell: 1979, ‘Predicting Unethical Behavior among Marketing Practitioners’,Human Relations 32, 557–561.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zohar, D.: 1980, ‘Safety Climate in Industrial Organizations: Theoretical and Applied Implications’,Journal of Applied Psychology 65, 96–102.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Management, Graduate School of Business, Indiana University, 47405-1701, Bloomington, IN, USA

    James C. Wimbush & Jon M. Shepard

Authors
  1. James C. Wimbush
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Jon M. Shepard
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Additional information

James C. Wimbush is Assistant Professor of Business Administration in the Department of Management at Indiana University, Bloomington. His current research is about ethical issues in human resources management.

Jon M. Shepard is Head of the Department of Management at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. His most recent publications include “Egoistic and Ethical Orientations of University Students Toward Work-Related Decisions” (Journal of Business Ethics). His current research interests include ethical climate and the accountability of institutions.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Wimbush, J.C., Shepard, J.M. Toward an understanding of ethical climate: Its relationship to ethical behavior and supervisory influence. J Bus Ethics 13, 637–647 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00871811

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00871811

Keywords

Search

Navigation