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Citation Classics from the Journal of Business Ethics pp 625–640Cite as

Corporate Ethics Practices in the Mid-1990s: An Empirical Study of the Fortune 1000

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

Abstract

This empirical study of Fortune 1000 firms assesses the degree to which those firms have adopted various practices associated with corporate ethics programs. The study examines the following aspects of formalized corporate ethics activity: ethics-oriented policy statements; formalization of management responsibilities for ethics; free-standing ethics offices; ethics and compliance telephone reporting/advice systems; top management and departmental involvement in ethics activities; usage of ethics training and other ethics awareness activities; investigatory functions; and evaluation of ethics program activities. Results show a high degree of corporate adoption of ethics policies, but wide variability in the extent to which these policies are implemented by various supporting structures and managerial activities. In effect, the vast majority of firms have committed to the low cost, possibly symbolic side of ethics management (e.g., adoption of ethics codes and policies, etc.). But firms differ substantially in their efforts to see that those policies or codes actually are put into practice.

Keywords

  • Corporate Ethics
  • Formal Ethics Programs
  • Ethics Officer
  • Company Ethics Policies
  • United States Sentencing Commission

These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.

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Acknowledgement

This research was supported by the Ethics in Business Research Fund of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. The authors are grateful for this support.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Business Administration, Alfred Lerner College of Business & Economics University of Delaware, Newark, DE, 19716, USA

    Gary R. Weaver

  2. Department of Management and Organization, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, 16802, USA

    Linda Klebe Treviño

  3. Kelley School of Business Indianapolis, Indiana University, 801 West Michigan Street, Indianapolis, Indiana, 46202, USA

    Philip L. Cochran

Authors
  1. Gary R. Weaver
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  2. Linda Klebe Treviño
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  3. Philip L. Cochran
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Linda Klebe Treviño .

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

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Weaver, G.R., Treviño, L.K., Cochran, P.L. (2013). Corporate Ethics Practices in the Mid-1990s: An Empirical Study of the Fortune 1000. 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_31

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