Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

The Role of Moral Intensity in Moral Judgments: An Empirical Investigation

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Citation Classics from the Journal of Business Ethics

Part of the book series: Advances in Business Ethics Research ((ABER,volume 2))

Abstract

Jones (Acad Manag Rev 16:366–395, 1991) has proposed an issue-contingent model of ethical decision making by individuals in organizations. The distinguishing feature of the issue was identified as its moral intensity, which determines the moral imperative in the situation. In this study, we adapted three scenarios from the literature in order to examine the issue-contingent model. Findings, based on a student sample, suggest that (1) the perceived and actual dimensions of moral intensity often differed; (2) perceived moral intensity variables, in the aggregate, significantly affected an individuals moral judgments; and (3) some dimensions of moral intensity (namely, perceived social consensus and perceived magnitude of consequences) mattered more than others.

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

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Ajzen, I., and M. Fishbein. 1980. Understanding attitudes and predicting social behavior. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall.

    Google Scholar 

  • Arnold, H.J., D.C. Feldman, and M. Purbhoo. 1985. The role of social desirability response bias in turnover research. Academy of Management Journal 28: 955–966.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bazerman, M.H. 1986. Judgment in managerial decision making. New York: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Boyd, B.K., G.G. Dess, and A.M.A. Rasheed. 1993. Divergence between archival and perceptual measures of the environment: Causes and consequences. Academy of Management Review 18: 204–226.

    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 

  • Dubinsky, A.J., and B. Loken. 1989. Analyzing ethical decision making in marketing. Journal of Business Research 19: 83–107.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Duncan, R.B. 1972. Characteristics of organizational environments and perceived environmental uncertainty. Administrative Science Quarterly 17: 313–327.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Elm, D.R. 1989. Managers reasoning about ethical issues: The impact of ethical climate and self-monitoring. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ferrell, O.C., and L.G. Gresham. 1985. A contingency framework for understanding ethical decision making in marketing. Journal of Marketing 49(3): 87–96.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ferrell, O.C., L.G. Gresham, and J. Fraedrich. 1989. A synthesis of ethical decision models for marketing. Journal of Macromarketing 9(Fall): 55–64.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Forsyth, D.R. 1980. A taxonomy of ethical ideologies. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 39: 175–184.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Forsyth, D.R. 1981. Moral judgment: The influence of ethical ideology. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin 7(2): 218–223.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fraedrich, J.P., and O.C. Ferrell. 1992. The impact of perceived risk and moral philosophy type on ethical decision making in business organizations. Journal of Business Research 24: 283–295.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fritzsche, D.J., and H. Becker. 1984. Linking management behavior to ethical philosophy: An empirical investigation. Academy of Management Journal 27: 166–175.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gaertner, K.N. 1991. The effect of ethical climate on managers’ decisions. In Morality; rationality and efficiency: New perspectives on socio-economics, ed. R.M. Coughlin, 211–223. Armonk: M. E. Sharpe.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ganster, D.C., H.W. Hennessey, and F. Luthans. 1983. Social desirability response effects: Three alternative models. Academy of Management Journal 26: 321–331.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Greenfield, M. 1993. Ignoring the “Why Nots”. Newsweek CXXII (11) (September 13): 80.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hegarty, W.H., and H.P. Sims. 1978. Some determinants of unethical decision behavior: An experiment. Journal of Applied Psychology 63: 451–457.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hogarth, R.M. 1987. Judgment and choice. New York: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hosmer, L.T. 1991. The ethics of management, 2nd ed. Homewood: Irwin.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hunt, S.D., and S. Vitell. 1986. A general theory of marketing ethics. Journal of Macromarketing 6(Spring): 5–16.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jauch, L.R., and K.L. Kraft. 1986. Strategic management of uncertainty. Academy of Management Review 11: 777–790.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jones, T.M. 1991. Ethical decision making by individuals in organizations: An issue-contingent model. Academy of Management Review 16: 366–395.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jones, T.M., and V.L. Huber. 1992. Issue contingency in ethical decision making. International Association for Business and Society Proceedings: 156–166.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kohlberg, L. 1969. Stage and sequence: The cognitive-developmental approach to socialization. In Handbook of socialization theory and research, ed. D.A. Goslin, 347–480. Chicago: Rand McNally.

    Google Scholar 

  • Logsdon, J.M., J.K. Thompson, and R.A. Reid. 1992. Software piracy: Is it related to stage of moral development? International Association for Business and Society Proceedings: 31–37.

    Google Scholar 

  • Malinowski, C.I., and C.P. Smith. 1985. Moral reasoning and moral conduct: An investigation prompted by Kohlberg’s theory. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 49: 1016–1027.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • March, J.G., and H.A. Simon. 1958. Organizations. New York: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Miller, J.G., D.M. Bersoff, and R.L. Harwood. 1990. Perceptions of social responsibilities in India and in the United States: Moral imperatives or personal decision? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 58: 33–47.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Moorman, R.H., and P.M. Podsakoff. 1992. A meta-analytic review and empirical test of the potential confounding effects of social desirability response sets in organizational behavior research. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology 65: 131–149.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nichols, M.L., and V.E. Day. 1982. A comparison of moral reasoning of groups and individuals on the “defining issues test”. Academy of Management Journal 25: 201–208.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Paulhus, D.L. 1991. BIDR reference manual for version 6. Unpublished report, University of British Columbia.

    Google Scholar 

  • Randall, D.M., and A.M. Gibson. 1990. Methodology in business ethics research: A review and critical assessment. Journal of Business Ethics 9: 457–472.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Reidenbach, R.E., D.P. Robin, and L. Dawson. 1991. An application and extension of a multidimensional ethics scale to selected marketing practices and marketing groups. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science 19: 83–92.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rest, J. 1986. Moral development: Advances in research and theory. New York: Praeger.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schwenk, C.R. 1988. The essence of strategic decision making. Lexington: Lexington Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Thomas, K.W., and B.A. Velthouse. 1990. Cognitive elements of empowerment: An “interpretive” model of intrinsic task motivation. Academy of Management Review 15: 666–681.

    Google Scholar 

  • Thomas, J.B., S.M. Clark, and D.A. Gioia. 1993. Strategic sensemaking and organizational performance: Linkages among scanning, interpretation, action, and outcomes. Academy of Management Journal 36: 239–270.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Trevino, L.K. 1986. Ethical decision making in organizations: A person-situation interactionist model. Academy of Management Review 11: 601–617.

    Google Scholar 

  • Trevino, L.K., and B. Victor. 1992. Peer reporting of unethical behavior: A social context perspective. Academy of Management Journal 35: 38–64.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Trevino, L.K., and S.A. Youngblood. 1990. Bad apples in bad barrels: A causal analysis of ethical decision-making behavior. Journal of Applied Psychology 75: 378–385.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tversky, A., and D. Kahneman. 1974. Judgment under uncertainty: Heuristics and biases. Science 185: 1124–1131.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Waterman, A.S. 1988. On the uses of psychological theory and research in the process of ethical inquiry. Psychological Bulletin 103(3): 283–298.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Weber, J. 1990. Managers’ moral reasoning: Assessing their responses to three moral dilemmas. Human Relations 43: 687–702.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Weber, J. 1993. Assessing the role of the moral issue and its intensity upon managerial decision making. International Association for Business and Society Proceedings: 390–394.

    Google Scholar 

  • Weick, K. 1979. The social psychology of organizing, 2nd ed. Reading: Addison-Wesley.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Management, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, VA, 23529, USA

    Sara A. Morris

  2. Brandon, MB, Canada

    Robert A. McDonald

Authors
  1. Sara A. Morris
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Robert A. McDonald
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Sara A. Morris .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. , Faculty of Arts, Brandon University, 18th Street 270, Brandon, R7A 6A9, Manitoba, Canada

    Alex C. Michalos

  2. Office of the President, Brandon University, 18th Street 270, Brandon, R7A 6A9, Manitoba, Canada

    Deborah C. Poff

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2013 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Morris, S.A., McDonald, R.A. (2013). The Role of Moral Intensity in Moral Judgments: An Empirical Investigation. In: Michalos, A., Poff, D. (eds) Citation Classics from the Journal of Business Ethics. Advances in Business Ethics Research, vol 2. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-4126-3_23

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation