| Title |
Ethics and compliance programs for a new business narrative: A Kohlberg-based moral valuing model for diagnosing commitment at the top |
| ID_Doc |
70953 |
| Authors |
Hernández-Cuadra, E; Fernández-Fernández, JL |
| Title |
Ethics and compliance programs for a new business narrative: A Kohlberg-based moral valuing model for diagnosing commitment at the top |
| Year |
2024 |
| Published |
Business And Society Review, 129.0, 1 |
| DOI |
10.1111/basr.12345 |
| Abstract |
A genuine commitment to ethics and compliance (E&C) programs means that top management adopt them for what they represent and not for other purposes. Only then can they truly build socially responsible behavior and a successful and sustainable business, as stated in the latest international standard for compliance management practice (ISO 37301:2021), which we found to be consistent with a new business narrative as conceptualized in Freeman's work. However, it also requires that top managers place a moral value on these practices, rather than simply using them for instrumental reasons. Building on Kohlberg's six stages of moral development as applied to managers' moral thinking, this manuscript offers a model to explain how top managers' moral valuing of these practices varies along a moral reasoning continuum, resulting in four distinct modes. It also theorizes that each mode of moral valuing yields an archetype of E&C programs. It thus offers a new approach that contributes to the business ethics and management literature by incorporating a morally grounded perspective on the adoption and implementation of E&C practices and how it might shape their features and characteristics. It also aims to improve professional practice and business contributions to Freeman's ideas through genuine ethics-based E&C programs. |
| Author Keywords |
ethics and compliance programs; managers' moral valuing; responsible business |
| Index Keywords |
Index Keywords |
| Document Type |
Other |
| Open Access |
Open Access |
| Source |
Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI) |
| EID |
WOS:001188668600001 |
| WoS Category |
Business |
| Research Area |
Business & Economics |
| PDF |
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