Skip to main content
Log in

Codes of Ethics as Signals for Ethical Behavior

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

Abstract

This study investigated effects of codes of ethics on perceptions of ethical behavior. Respondents from companies with codes of ethics (n = 465) rated role set members (top management, supervisors, peers, subordinates, self) as more ethical and felt more encouraged and supported for ethical behavior than respondents from companies without codes (n = 301). Key aspects of the organizational climate, such as supportiveness for ethical behavior, freedom to act ethically, and satisfaction with the outcome of ethical problems were impacted by the presence of an ethics code. The mere presence of a code of ethics appears to have a positive impact on perceptions of ethical behavior in organizations, even when respondents cannot recall specific content of the code.

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

Access this article

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

  • Adams, J. S. and A. Tashchian: 1995, An exploratory study of gender differences in experiences of ethical dilemmas at work. Paper presented at the Academy of Management Meetings, Vancouver.

  • Arrow, K. J.: 1974, 'Social Responsibility and Economic Efficiency', Public Policy 21, 303–317.

    Google Scholar 

  • Berenbain, R. E.: 1992, Corporate Ethics Practices (The Conference Board, New York).

    Google Scholar 

  • Carroll, A. B.: 1989, Business and Society (South-Western, Cincinnati).

    Google Scholar 

  • Center for Business Ethics: 1992, 'Instilling Ethical Values in Large Corporations', Journal of Business Ethics 5, 85–91.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chatov, R.: 1980, 'What Corporate Ethics Statements Say', California Management Review 25, 53–77.

    Google Scholar 

  • Collins, D.: 1989, 'Organizational Harm, Legal Condemnation, and Stakeholder Retaliation: A Typology, Research Agenda and Application', Journal of Business Ethics 8, 1–13.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cressey, D. and C. A. Moore: 1983, 'Managerial Values and Corporate Codes of Ethics', California Management Review 25, 53–77.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fisher, D.: 1993, Communication in Organizations, 2nd ed. (West, Minneapolis/St. Paul).

  • Fraedrich, J. and O. C. Ferrell: 1992, 'Cognitive Consistency of Marketing Managers in Ethical Situations', Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science 20 ( Summer), 245–252.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fraedrich, J., D. M. Thorne and O. C. Ferrell: 1994, 'Assessing the Application of Cognitive Moral Development Theory to Business Ethics', Journal of Business Ethics 13, 829–838.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fulmer, R. M.: 1969, 'Ethical Codes for Business', Personnel Administrator (May-June), 49–57.

  • Glasser, B. G. and A. L. Strauss: 1967, The Discovery of Grounded Theory: Strategies for Qualitative Research (Adline Publishing Company, New York).

    Google Scholar 

  • Hegarty, M. T. 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, M. T. 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 

  • Jones, S. K. and K. M. Hiltebeitel, 1995, 'Organizational Influence in a Model of the Moral Decision Process of Accountants', Journal of Business Ethics 14, 417–431.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jones, T. M.: 1991, 'Ethical Decision Making by Individuals in Organizations: An Issue-contingent View', Academy of Management Review 16(2), 366–395.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kaye, B. N.: 1992, 'Codes of Ethics in Australian Business Corporations', Journal of Business Ethics 11, 857–862.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kolberg, L.: 1973, Collected Papers on Moral Development and Moral Education (Laboratory of Human Development, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA.)

    Google Scholar 

  • Messick, D. M. and M. H. Bazerman: 1996, 'Ethical Leadership and the Psychology of Decision Making', Sloan Management Review (Winter), 9–22.

  • Miles, M. B. and A. M. Huberman: 1984, Qualitative Data Analysis (Sage Publications, Newbury Park, CA).

    Google Scholar 

  • Murphy, P. E.: 1995, 'Corporate Ethics Statements: Current Status and Future Prospects', Journal of Business Ethics 14, 727–740.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Oliverio, M. E.: 1989, The Implementation of a Code of Ethics: The Early Effort of One Entrepreneur', Journal of Business Ethics 8, 367–374.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rafalko, R. J.: 1994, 'Remaking the Corporation: The 1991 Sentencing Guidelines', Journal of Business Ethics 13, 625–636.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Redding, S. G.: 1990, The Spirit of Chinese Capitalism (Walter de Gruyter, Berlin).

    Google Scholar 

  • Rogers, P. and J. Swales: 1990, 'We the People? An Analysis of the Dana Corporation Policies Document', The Journal of Business Communication 27(3), 293–313.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sethi, S. P.: 1994, 'Imperfect Markets: Business Ethics as an Easy Virtue', Journal of Business Ethics 13, 803–815.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shaw, W. H. and V. Barry: 1995, Moral Issues in Business, 6th ed. (Wadsworth, Belmont, CA).

    Google Scholar 

  • Small Business Administration, Office of Economic Research, Office of Advocacy: 1997, The Facts about Small Business.

  • Stevens, B.: 1994, 'An Analysis of Corporate Ethical Code Studies: “Where Do We Go from Here?”', Journal of Business Ethics 13, 63–69.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stone, C.: 1975, Where the Law Ends (Harper & Row, New York).

    Google Scholar 

  • Toffler, B. L.: 1991, Managers Talk Ethics: Making Tough Choices in a Competitive Business World (Wiley, New York).

    Google Scholar 

  • Trevino, L. K.: 1986, 'Ethical Decision Making in Organizations: A Person-situation Interactionist model', Academy of Management Review 11(3), 601–617.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Trevino, L. K.: 1992, 'Moral Reasoning and Business Ethics: Implications for Research, Education and Management', Journal of Business Ethics 11, 225–259.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Trevino, L. K. and K. A. Nelson: 1995, Managing Business Ethics: Straight Talk about How to Do It Right (Wiley, New York).

    Google Scholar 

  • Van Maanen, J.: 1983, Qualitative Methodology (Sage, Newbury Park).

    Google Scholar 

  • Waters, J. A.: 1988, 'Integrity Management: Learning and Implementing Ethical Principles in the Workplace', in S. Srivastva and Associates (eds.), Executive Integrity (Jossey-Bass, San Francisco).

    Google Scholar 

  • Weaver, G. R.: 1995, 'Does Ethics Code Design Matter? Effects of Ethics Code Rationales and Sanctions on Recipients' Justice Perceptions and Content Recall', Journal of Business Ethics 14, 367–385.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Weber, J.: 1990, 'Managers' Moral Reasoning: Assessing Their Responses to Three Moral Dilemmas', Human Relations 43(7), 687–702.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Weber, J.: 1994, 'Influences upon Managerial Moral Decision Making: Nature of the Harm and Magnitude of Consequences', Academy of Management Best Papers Proceedings, 329–333.

  • Weiss, J. W.: 1994, Business Ethics: A Managerial, Stakeholder Approach (Wadsworth, Belmont, CA).

    Google Scholar 

  • White, B. J. and R. Montgomery: 1980, 'Corporate Codes of Conduct', California Management Review 13(2).

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Adams, J.S., Tashchian, A. & Shore, T.H. Codes of Ethics as Signals for Ethical Behavior. Journal of Business Ethics 29, 199–211 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1026576421399

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1026576421399

Navigation