Abstract
Moral choice, as a precursor to behaviour, has an important influence on the success or failure of business entities. According to Rest, 1983, Morality, Moral Behavior and Moral Development (John Wiley & Sons, New York), moral choice is prompted, amongst other things, by a motivational component. With this in mind, data obtained from a sample of four hundred financial sector operatives, employed in a rapidly developing region of China, was used to construct a relatively stable set of motivational typologies which could be used to predict choice within an agency-based context. A non-egoist version of the agency theory was developed, which permitted the modelling of alternative heuristic patterns. Altruists and persons identified as bordering on the verge of being classified as psychological egoists, refused to reorganize their motives when responding to a problem that included both moral hazard and adverse selection criteria. It was also possible to identify certain personal and contextual issues which discriminated between the typologies.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
I. Ajzen (1988) Attitudes, Personality and Behavior Open University Press Stratford
A. Blasi (1980) ArticleTitle‘Bridging Moral Cognition and Moral Action: A Review of the Literature’ Psychological Bulletin 88 1–45
R. Boudon (1992) ‘Subjective Rationality and the Explanation of Social Behaviour’ H. A. Simon (Eds) Economics, Bounded Rationality and the Cognitive Revolution Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd Hants, U.K
N. E. Bowie R. E. Freeman (1992) Ethics and Agency Theory: An Introduction Oxford University Press New York
Celluci, A. J. and D. L. DeVries: 1978, Measuring Managerial Satisfaction: A Manual for the MJSQ, Technical Report II (Center for Creative Leadership)
Chi, S. K.: 1989, Ethics and Agency Theory, Unpublished doctoral research paper, Department of Accounting, Washington University, Washington
D. K. Clark R. V. Rakestraw (1994) Readings in Christian Ethics. Volume 1: Theory and Method Baker Books Michigan
D. Cremer ParticleDe M. Vugt ParticleVan (1999) ArticleTitle‘Social Identification Effects in Social Dilemmas: A Transformation of Motives’ European Journal of Social Psychology 29 871–893
R. T. DeGeorge (1986) Business Ethics MacMillan Publishing Copy New York
R. T. DeGeorge (1992) ‘Agency Theory and the Ethics of Agency’ N. E. Bowie R. E. Freeman (Eds) Ethics and Agency Theory: An Introduction Oxford University Press New York
R. F. Duska (1992) ‘Why be a Loyal Agent? A Systemic Ethical Analysis’ N. E. Bowie R. E. Freeman (Eds) Ethics and Agency Theory Oxford University Press New York
J. J. Edney (1980) ArticleTitle‘The Commons Problem: Alternative Perspectives’ American Psychologist 35 131–150
K. M. Eisenhardt (1989) ArticleTitle‘Agency Theory: An Assessment and Review’ Academy of Management Review 14 IssueID1 57–74
M. Fishbein I. Ajzen (1975) Belief, Attitude, Intention, and Behaviour: An Introduction to Theory and Research Addison-Wesley Reading, MA
J. F. Hair R. E. Anderson R. L. Tatham W. C. Black (1995) Multivariate Data Analysis with Readings EditionNumber4 Prentice-Hall Englewood Cliffs, NJ
A. Harrell P. Harrison (1994) ArticleTitle‘An Incentive to Shirk, Privately Held Information, and Managers’ Project Evaluation Decisions’ Accounting, Organization and Society 19 IssueID7 569–577 Occurrence Handle10.1016/0361-3682(94)90024-8
M. Jensen W. Meckling (1976) ArticleTitle‘Theory of the Firm: Managerial Behaviour, Agency Costs and Ownership Structure’ Journal of Financial Economics 3 305–360
T. M. Jones (1991) ArticleTitle‘Ethical Decision Making by Individuals in Organizations: An Issue-Contingent Model’ Academy of Management Review 16 366–395
D. Kahneman P. Slovic A. Tversky (1982) Judgment Under Uncertainty Heuristics and Biases Cambridge University Press New York
D. Kahneman A. Tversky (2000) Choices, Values and Frames Cambridge University Press U.K
M. D. Koford O. Penno (1992) ‘Self-interest and Ethical Agents’ N. E. Bowie R. E. Freeman (Eds) Ethics and Agency Theory: An introduction Oxford University Press New York
L. Kohlberg (1969) ‘Stages and Sequences: The Cognitive Development Approach to Socialization’ D. A. Goslin (Eds) Handbook of Socialization Theory and Research Rand McNally Chicago
L. Kohlberg (1980) The Meaning and Measurement of Moral Development Clark University Press Worcester, MA
L. Kohlberg (1981) The Philosophy of Moral Judgment Harper & Row New York
D. M. Messick M. B. Brewer (1983) ‘Solving Social Dilemmas’ L. Wheeler P. R. Shaver (Eds) Review of Personality and Social Psychology Sage Publications Beverley Hills, CA 11–44
D. M. Messick C. G. McClintock (1968) ArticleTitle‘Motivational Basis of Choice in Experimental Games’ Journal of Experimental and Social Psychology 4 1–25 Occurrence Handle10.1016/0022-1031(68)90046-2
B. M. Mitnick (1992) ‘The Theory of Agency and Organizational Analysis’ N. E. Bowie R. E. Freeman (Eds) Ethics and Agency Theory: An Introduction Oxford University Press New York
R. Nisbett L. Ross (1980) Human Inference: Strategies and Shortcomings of Social Judgment Prentice-Hall Englewood Cliffs, NJ
J. R. Rest (1983) ‘The Major Components of Morality’ W. M. Kurtines J. L. Gewirtz (Eds) Morality, Moral Behavior and Moral Development John Wiley & Sons New York
J. R. Rest (1986) Moral Development: Advances in Research and Theory Praeger New York
J. R. Rest (1990) DIT Manual Center for the Study of Ethical Development Minnesota
J. Rest D. Narvaez M. J. Bebeau S. J. Thoma (1999) Postconventional Moral Thinking: A Neo-Kohlbergian Approach Lawrence Erlbaum Associates New Jersey
J. R. Rest D. Narvaez: ( 1994) Moral Development in the Professions: Psychology and Applied Ethics Lawrence Erlbaum Associates New Jersey
S. A. Ross (1973) ArticleTitle‘The Economic Theory of Agency: The Principal’s Problem’ American Economic Review 63 134–139
R. W. Rutledge K. E. Karim (1999) ArticleTitle‘The Influence of Self-interest and Ethical Consideration on Managers’ Evaluation Judgments’ Accounting, Organizations and Society 24 173–184 Occurrence Handle10.1016/S0361-3682(98)00027-0
N. A. Shankman (1999) ArticleTitle‘Reframing the Debate between Agency and Stakeholder Theories of the Firm’ Journal of Business Ethics 19 319–334 Occurrence Handle10.1023/A:1005880031427
H. A. Simon (1992) Economics, Bounded Rationality and the Cognitive Revolution Edward Elgar Cheltenham
M. Singer S. Mitchell J. Turner (1998) ArticleTitle‘Consideration of Moral Intensity in Ethicality Judgements: Its Relationship with Whistle-Blowing and Need-for-Cognition’ Journal of Business Ethics 17 IssueID5 527–541
InstitutionalAuthorNameThe Culture Connection (1987) ArticleTitle‘Chinese Values and the Search for Culture-free Dimensions of Culture’ Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology 18 IssueID2 143–164
S. J. Thoma J. R. Rest (1986) ‘Moral Judgment, Behaviour, Decision Making and Attitudes’ J. R. Rest (Eds) Moral Development: Advances in Theory and Research Praeger New York
P. A. M. Lange ParticleVan W. B. G. Liebrand D. M. Messick H. A. M. Wilke (1992) ‘Social Dilemmas: The State of the Art – Introduction and Literature Review’ W. Liebrand D. Messick H. Wilke (Eds) Social dilemmas: Theoretical Issues and Research Findings Pergamon Press Oxford, England 3–28
P. A. M. Lange ParticleVan D. M. Kuhlman (1994) ArticleTitle‘Social Value Orientations and Impressions of Partner’s Honesty and Intelligence: A Test of the Might Versus Morality Effect’ Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 67 IssueID1 126–141
B. Victor J. B. Cullen (1988) ArticleTitle‘The Organizational Bases of Ethical Work Climates’ Administrative Science Quarterly 33 101–125
B. Victor J. B. Cullen (1990) ‘A Theory and Measure of Ethical Climate in Organizations’ W. C. Frederick L. E. Preston (Eds) Business Ethics: Research Issues and Empirical Studies JAI Press Inc Greenwich Con
Woodbine, G.: 2004a, ‘Moral Choice within the Financial Sector of the Shenzhen Economic Zone, People’s Republic of China’, Electronic Journal of Business Ethics and Organization Studies (EJBO), 9(1)
G. Woodbine (2004b) ArticleTitle‘Moral Choice and the Declining Influence of Traditional Value Orientations within the Financial Sector of a Rapidly Developing Region of the People’s Republic of China’ Journal of Business Ethics 55 IssueID1 43–60 Occurrence Handle10.1007/s10551-004-5592-5
Woodbine, G.: 2004c, ‘Gender Issues Impact the Role of the Moral Agent in a Rapidly Developing Economic Zone of the People’s Republic of China, Journal of Asia-Pacific Business, under review
G. Woodbine Yuningsih (2004d) ArticleTitle‘Cognitive Moral Development within a Chinese Business Context: Testing the Theory’ Jurnal Akuntansi dan Keuangan (Balance) 2 IssueIDOctober 281–302
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Gordon Woodbine, Ph.D., FCPA is Senior Lecturer employed in the School of Accounting, Curtin University of Technology teaching undergraduate and post-graduate students in auditing, business ethics and governance. He has taught for extended periods overseas and is published in several refereed journals including Journal of Business Ethics, Asian Review of Accounting and Journal of Consumer Behaviour.
Dennis Taylor Ph.D., FCPA is Chair Professor in Accounting at University of South Australia. Previously, he held professorial, associate dean, and head of school appointments at University of Adelaide, Curtin University of Technology and City University of Hong Kong. He is the author of over 100 publications in areas of corporate financial disclosures and public sector accountability.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Woodbine, G.F., Taylor, D. Moral Choice in an Agency Framework: The Search for a Set of Motivational Typologies. J Bus Ethics 63, 261–277 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-005-2583-0
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-005-2583-0