Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Corporate Social Responsibility, Ethical Leadership, and Trust Propensity: A Multi-Experience Model of Perceived Ethical Climate

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

Abstract

Existing research on the formation of employee ethical climate perceptions focuses mainly on organization characteristics as antecedents, and although other constructs have been considered, these constructs have typically been studied in isolation. Thus, our understanding of the context in which ethical climate perceptions develop is incomplete. To address this limitation, we build upon the work of Rupp (Organ Psychol Rev 1:72–94, 2011) to develop and test a multi-experience model of ethical climate which links aspects of the corporate social responsibility (CSR), ethics, justice, and trust literatures and helps to explain how employees’ ethical climate perceptions form. We argue that in forming ethical climate perceptions, employees consider the actions or characteristics of a complex web of actors. Specifically, we propose that employees look (1) outward at how communities are impacted by their organization’s actions (e.g., CSR), (2) upward to make inferences about the ethicality of leaders in their organizations (e.g., ethical leadership), and (3) inward at their own propensity to trust others as they form their perceptions. Using a multiple-wave field study (N = 201) conducted at a privately held US corporation, we find substantial evidence in support of our model.

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

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Aguinis, H. (2010). Organizational responsibility: Doing good and doing well. In S. Zedeck (Ed.), APA handbook of industrial and organizational psychology (Vol. 3, pp. 855–879)., Maintaining, expanding, and contracting the organization Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

    Google Scholar 

  • Aiken, L. S., & West, S. G. (1991). Multiple regression: Testing and interpreting interactions. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

  • Ajzen, I. (1991). The theory of planned behavior’. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 50, 179–211.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Albinger, H. S., & Freeman, S. J. (2000). Corporate social performance and attractiveness as an employer to different job seeking populations. Journal of Business Ethics, 28, 243–253.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Alge, B. J., Ballinger, G. A., & Green, S. G. (2004). Remote control: Predictors of electronic monitoring intensity and secrecy. Personnel Psychology, 57(2), 377–410.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Arnaud, A., & Schminke, M. (2012). The ethical climate and context of organizations: A comprehensive model. Organization Science, 23(6), 1767–1780.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Balmer, M. T., Fukukawa, K., & Gray, E. R. (2007). The nature and management of ethical corporate identity: A commentary on corporate identity, corporate social responsibility and ethics. Journal of Business Ethics, 76, 7–15.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Baron, R. M., & Kenny, D. A. (1986). The Moderator-mediator variable distinction in social psychological research: conceptual, strategic, and statistical considerations. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 51, 1173–1183.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bigley, G. A., & Pearce, J. L. (1998). Straining for shared meaning in organization science: Problems of trust and distrust. Academy of Management Review, 23(3), 405–421.

    Google Scholar 

  • Boeckmann, R. J., & Tyler, T. R. (1997). Commonsense justice and inclusion within the moral community: When to people receive procedural protections from others? Psychology, Public Policy, and Law, 3, 362–380.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brower, H. H., & Shrader, Y. (2000). Moral reasoning and ethical climate: Not for profit versus for profit boards of directors. Journal of Business Ethics, 26, 147–167.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brown, M. E., Trevino, L. K., & Harrison, D. A. (2005). Ethical leadership: A social learning perspective for construct development and testing. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 97, 117–134.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Collier, J., & Esteban, R. (2007). Corporate social responsibility and employee commitment. Business Ethics: A European Review, 16(1), 19–33.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Colquitt, J. A. (2001). On the dimensionality of organizational justice: A construct validation of a measure. Journal of Applied Psychology, 86(3), 386–400.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Colquitt, J. A., Scott, B. A., Judge, T. A., & Shaw, J. C. (2006). Justice and personality: Using integrative theories to derive moderators of justice effects. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 100(1), 110–127.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Colquitt, J. A., Scott, J. A., & LePine, B. A. (2007). Trust, trustworthiness, and trust propensity: A meta-analytic test of their unique relationships with risk taking and job performance. Journal of Applied Pscyhology, 92(4), 909–927.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cropanzano, R., Rupp, D. E., Mohler, C. J., & Schminke, M. (2001). Three roads to organizational justice. In G. R. Ferris (Ed.), Research in personnel and human resources management (Vol. 20, pp. 1–123). Philadelphia: Elsevier Science.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dawson, L. M. (1992). Will feminization change the ethics of the sales profession? Journal of Personal Selling and Sales Management, 12, 21–31.

    Google Scholar 

  • De Cremer, D., & Van Hiel, A. (2006). Effects of another person’s fair treatment on one’s own emotions and behaviors: The moderating role of how much the other cares for you. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 100, 231–249.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dirks, K. T., & Ferrin, D. L. (2002). Trust in leadership: Meta-analytic findings and implications for research and practice. Journal of Applied Psychology, 87(4), 611–628.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dunford, B. B., Jackson, C. L., Boss, A. D., Tay, L., & Boss, R. W. (2015). Be fair, your employees are watching: A relational response model of external third party justice. Personnel Psychology, 68(2), 319–352.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ellen, P. S., Webb, D. J., & Mohr, L. A. (2006). Building corporate associations: Consumer attributions for corporate socially responsible programs. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 34(2), 147–157.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ferris, G. R., Arthur, M. M., & Berkson, H. M. (1998). Toward a social context theory of the human resource management-organization effectiveness relationship. Human Resource Management Review, 8(3), 235–264.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Festinger, L. (1957). A theory of cognitive dissonance. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fishbein, M., & Ajzen, I. (1975). Belief, attitude, intention and behavior: An introduction to theory and research. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Folger, R., Cropanzano, R., & Goldman, B. (2005). What is the relationship between justice and morality?’. In J. Greenberg & J. A. Colquitt (Eds.), Handbook of organizational justice (pp. 215–245). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

    Google Scholar 

  • Forte, A. (2004). Business ethics: A study of the moral reasoning of selected business managers and the influence of the organizational ethical climate. Journal of Business Ethics, 51(2), 167–173.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gephart, J. K., Harrison, D. A., & Treviño, L. K. (2008). The who, when, and where of unethical choices: Meta-analytic answers to fundamental ethics questions. Academy of Management Annual Proceedings, 18, 1–6.

    Google Scholar 

  • Glavas, A., & Godwin, L. (2013). Is the perception of goodness good enough? Exploring the relationship between perceived CSR and employee organizational identification. Journal of Business Ethics, 114, 15–27.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Groza, M. D., Pronschinske, M. R., & Walker, M. (2011). Perceived organizational motives and consumer responses to proactive and reactive CSR. Journal of Business Ethics, 102, 639–652.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hansen, S. D., Alge, B. J., Brown, M. E., Jackson, C. J., & Dunford, B. B. (2013). Ethical leadership: Assessing the value of a multifoci social exchange perspective. Journal of Business Ethics, 115, 435–449.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hansen, S. D., Dunford, B. B., Boss, A. D., Boss, R. W., & Angermeier, I. (2011). Corporate social responsibility and the benefits of employee trust: A cross-disciplinary perspective. Journal of Business Ethics, 102(1), 29–45.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Harman, H. (1967). Modern factor analysis. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Herndon, N. C, Jr, Ferrell, O. C., Le Clari, D. Y., & Ferrel, L. K. (1999). Relationship of individual moral values and perceived ethical climate to satisfaction, commitment and turnover in a sales organization. Research in Marketing, 15, 25–48.

    Google Scholar 

  • Johnson, P. O., & Neyman, J. (1936). Tests of certain linear hypotheses and their applications to some educational problems. Statistical Research Memoirs, 1, 57–93.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kim, Y., & Kim, S. (2010). The influence of cultural values on perceptions of CSR: Application of Hofstede’s dimensions to Korean public relations practitioners. Journal of Business Ethics, 91(4), 485–500.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kish-Gephart, J. J., Harrison, D. A., & Treviño, L. (2010). Bad apples, bad cases, and bad barrels: Meta-analytic evidence about sources of unethical decisions at work. Journal of Applied Psychology, 95(1), 1–31. doi:10.1037/a0017103.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kline, R. B. (2005). Principles and practice of equation modeling (2nd ed.). New York, NY: The Guilford Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lavelle, J. J., Rupp, D. E., & Brockner, J. (2007). Taking a multifoci approach to the study of justice, social exchange, and citizenship behavior: The target similarity model? Journal of Management, 33, 841–866.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lind, E. A. (2001). Fairness heuristic theory: Justice judgments as pivotal cognitions in organizational relations. In J. Greenberg & R. Cropanzano (Eds.), Advances in organizational justice (pp. 56–88). Stanford: Stanford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lind, E. A., & Van den Bos, K. (2002). When fairness works: Toward a general theory of uncertainty management. In B. M. Staw & R. M. Kramer (Eds.), Research in organizational behavior (Vol. 24, pp. 181–223). Boston, MA: Elsevier.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lord, R., & Maher, K. (1993). Leadership and information processing. Routledge: New York, NY.

    Google Scholar 

  • Luntley, M. (2003). Ethics in the face of uncertainty: Judgment not rules. Business Ethics: A European Review, 12(4), 325–333.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Luthar, H. K., DiBattista, R. A., & Gautschi, T. (1997). Perception of what the ethical climate is and what it should be: The role of gender, academic status, and ethical education. Journal of Business Ethics, 16(2), 205–217.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Martin, K. D., & Cullen, J. B. (2006). Continuities and extensions of ethical climate theory: A meta analytic review. Journal of Business Ethics, 69, 175–194.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mason, E. S., & Mudrack, P. E. (1997). Are individuals who agree that CSR is a ‘fundamentally subversive doctrine’ inherently unethical? Applied Psychology: An International Review, 46(2), 135–152.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mayer, D. M. (in press). A review of the literature on ethical climate and culture. In B. Schneider and K. M. Barbera (Eds.), The Oxford handbook of organizational climate and culture. Oxford: University Press.

  • Mayer, R. C., & Davis, J. H. (1999). The effect of performance appraisal system on trust for management: A field quasiexperiment. Journal of Applied Psychology, 84, 123–136.

  • Mayer, R. C., Davis, J. H., & Schoorman, F. D. (1995). An integrative model of organizational trust. Academy of Management Review, 20, 709–734.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mayer, D. M., Kuenzi, M., & Greenbaum, R. L. (2009). Making ethical climate a mainstream management topic: A review, critique and prescription for the empirical research on ethical climate. In D. De Cremer (Ed.), Psychological perspectives on ethical behavior and decision making (pp. 181–213). Greenwich, CT: Information Age Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mayer, D. M., Kuenzi, M., & Greenbaum, R. L. (2010). Examining the link between ethical leadership and employee misconduct: The mediating role of ethical climate. Journal of Business Ethics, 95, 7–16.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mayer, D. M., Nurmohamed, S., Treviño, L. K., Shapiro, D. L., & Schminke, M. (2013). Encouraging employees to report unethical conduct internally: It takes a village. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 121(1), 89–103.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mesmer-Magnus, J. R., & Viswesvaran, C. (2005). Whistleblowing in organizations: An examination of correlates of whistleblowing intentions, actions, and retaliation. Journal of Business Ethics, 62, 277–297.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Meyer, J. W., & Rowan, B. (1977). Institutionalized organizations: Formal structure as myth and ceremony. American Journal of Sociology, 83, 340–363.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Neubaum, D. O., Mitchell, M. S., & Schminke, M. (2004). Firm newness, and ethical climate. Journal of Business Ethics, 52(4), 335–347.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ostroff, C., Kinicki, A. J., & Muhammad, R. S. (2013). Organizational culture and climate. In I. B. Weiner (Ed.), Handbook of psychology (2nd ed., pp. 643–676). New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons.

    Google Scholar 

  • Podsakoff, P. M., MacKenzie, S. B., Lee, J. Y., & Podsakoff, N. P. (2003). Common method biases in behavioral research: A critical review of the literature and recommended remedies. Journal of Applied Psychology, 88, 879–903.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Preacher, K. J., & Hayes, A. F. (2008). Asymptotic and resampling strategies for assessing and comparing indirect effects in multiple mediator models. Behavior Research Methods, 40, 879–891.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Preacher, K. J., Rucker, D. D., & Hayes, A. F. (2007). addressing moderated mediation hypotheses: Theory, methods and prescriptions. Multivariate Behavioral Research, 42(1), 185–227.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ramasamy, B., Yeung, M., & Au, A. (2010). Consumer support for corporate social responsibility (CSR): The role of religion and values. Journal of Business Ethics, 91, 61–72.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Riordan, C. M., Gatewood, R. D., & Bill, J. B. (1997). Corporate image: Employee reactions and implications for managing corporate social performance. Journal of Business Ethics, 16(4), 401–412.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rupp, D. E. (2011). An employee centered model of organizational justice and social responsibility. Organizational Psychology Review, 1(1), 72–94.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rupp, D. E., Ganapathi, J., Aguilera, R. V., & Williams, C. A. (2006). Employee reactions to corporate social responsibility: An organizational justice framework. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 27, 537–543.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schneider, B. (1975). Organizational climate: An essay. Personnel Psychology, 28, 447–479.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schneider, B., Ehrhart, M. G., & Macey, W. A. (2011). Perspectives on organizational climate and culture. In S. Zedeck (Ed.), Handbook of industrial and organizational psychology (pp. 373–414). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shinn, Y. (2012). CEO ethical leadership, ethical climate, climate strength and collective organizational citizenship behavior. Journal of Business Ethics, 108, 299–312.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Skarlicki, D. P., & Kulik, C. (2005). Third party reactions to employee (mis)treatment: A justice perspective. In B. Staw & R. Kramer (Eds.), Research in organizational behavior (Vol. 26, pp. 183–230). Greenwich, CT: JAI Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Treviño, L. K., Butterfield, K. D., & McCabe, D. L. (1998). The ethical context in organizations: Influences on employee attitudes and behaviors. Business Ethics Quarterly, 8(3), 447–476.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Trevino, L. K., Hartman, L. P., & Brown, M. (2000). Moral person and moral manager: How executives develop a reputation for ethical leadership. California Management Review, 42(4), 128–142.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Victor, B., & Cullen, J. (1988). The organizational bases of ethical work climates. Administrative Science Quarterly, 33, 101–125.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Weaver, G. R., Trevino, L. K., & Cochran, P. L. (1999). Corporate ethics programs as control systems: Influences of executive commitment and environmental factors. Academy of Management Journal, 42(1), 41–57.

  • Wimbush, J. C., Shepard, J. M., & Markham, S. E. (1997). An empirical examination of the relationship between ethical climate and ethical climate perceptions from multiple levels of analysis. Journal of Business Ethics, 16, 1705–1716.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. John B. Goddard School of Business & Economics, Weber State University, 3848 Harrison Blvd., Ogden, UT, 84408, USA

    S. Duane Hansen

  2. Krannert Graduate School of Management, Purdue University, 403 W. State Street, West Lafayette, IN, 47907, USA

    Benjamin B. Dunford, Bradley J. Alge & Christine L. Jackson

Authors
  1. S. Duane Hansen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Benjamin B. Dunford
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Bradley J. Alge
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Christine L. Jackson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to S. Duane Hansen.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Duane Hansen, S., Dunford, B.B., Alge, B.J. et al. Corporate Social Responsibility, Ethical Leadership, and Trust Propensity: A Multi-Experience Model of Perceived Ethical Climate. J Bus Ethics 137, 649–662 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-015-2745-7

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-015-2745-7

Keywords

Search

Navigation