Unethical behavior in organizations: empirical findings that challenge CSR and egoism theory

In the egoism philosophical framework, it is contended that when organizations focus on their long‐term interests, they, without knowing it, advance the interests of society as a whole, which is perceived as ethical. In this research, this premise is challenged using data collected from the social m...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inBusiness ethics (Oxford, England) Vol. 25; no. 2; pp. 113 - 127
Main Author Overall, Jeffrey
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Oxford Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.04.2016
Subjects
Business ethics
Comparative analysis
Ethics
Long term planning
Studies
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Summary:In the egoism philosophical framework, it is contended that when organizations focus on their long‐term interests, they, without knowing it, advance the interests of society as a whole, which is perceived as ethical. In this research, this premise is challenged using data collected from the social media outlets of 29 randomly selected companies from the 2013 Fortune 500 list. Through qualitative comparative analysis, the exact opposite was found. In fact, the organizations that focused on striving for their long‐term success are perceived as unethical. It was also found that socially responsible organizations are perceived as ethical whereas those that misrepresent their positions and attempt to influence the decisions of others are perceived as unethical. Implications for managers are discussed, and future directions are suggested.
Bibliography:ark:/67375/WNG-VD4ZPH49-9
istex:7DF75E82D1C60A114D77D69B92FD9ADC2195F5F1
ArticleID:BEER12110
ISSN:0962-8770
2694-6416
1467-8608
2694-6424
DOI:10.1111/beer.12110