Corporate Codes of Ethics and the Bending of Moral Space

Abstract

What happens when corporate codes of ethics (CCEs) `go to work', and how do they influence moral practice? Even though previous research has posed these or similar questions, the role and the effect of the CCE are still dubious. In this article, it is argued that this is predominantly because previous research is fixed in a position in which CCEs are passive artefacts with no capability of bending space, and in which agency and morality are limited to the human sphere only. An approach to the study and understanding of CCEs in which the travel of the CCE is made the focus of the research is therefore developed. The code comes alive in a heterogeneous materiality, travelling as a result of a wide range of translations, and granted an epistemological capability of influencing humans' world-views and moral practices. The approach is illustrated with a case study on CCE-implementation and it is concluded that through generating more accounts like this, researchers and practitioners are not only in a better position to understand how CCEs `go to work', but also in a better position to shoulder moral responsibility.