Abstract
This paper examines the moral reasoning trends of CEOs (chief executive officers) in the automotive industry, gauging their relations to ethical behaviors and scandals as well as analyzing the influence of scandals and other factors on their moral reasoning. For such a purpose, we carried out a moral reasoning categorization for the top 15 automotive companies in vehicle production in 2017 by applying Weber’s method to letters written by CEOs for the period 2013–2018. A positive global trend was observed, with some CEOs reaching high levels, although the evolution was uneven without clear patterns and, in the light of facts, not sufficient, at least in the short term. We also found evidence linking the moral reasoning stages with the ethical performance of companies and introduced the concept “tone ‘into’ the top”, reflecting how CEO moral reasoning can be shaped by the company and external factors. This paper stresses the importance of considering the moral tone at the top in relation to company ethical behaviors and the interest of education in business ethics. The outcome is useful for CEOs and other managers seeking to improve corporate social responsibility (CSR) and company ethical performance and to anticipate conflicts as well as to leverage for future research.
Highlights
The power and influence of CEOs (Chief Executive Officers) have grown in recent decades, in some cases contributing to the collapse of companies and to the financial crisis
The moral obligation that business has to society is stressed by corporate social responsibility (CSR) [2], while corporate social responsibility is strongly influenced by top-level managers [3]
By reaching higher levels of moral reasoning, we argue that CEOs will still keep satisfying their needs as individuals, but this will be more based on the satisfaction in succeeding at offering benefits to society
Summary
The power and influence of CEOs (Chief Executive Officers) have grown in recent decades, in some cases contributing to the collapse of companies and to the financial crisis. The moral integrity of CEOs is under constant scrutiny [1]. Treviño and Brown [4] defined the role of a leader as that of a moral manager whose proactive efforts may both positively and negatively influence the behaviors of their followers. Trevino et al [5] related the effectiveness of ethical management with the communication of the importance of ethical standards. Weber concluded that there is an expanded view of moral leadership: “leaders must be individuals of moral character, as well as people-oriented leaders who communicate the importance of good values to the firm” [6] Weber concluded that there is an expanded view of moral leadership: “leaders must be individuals of moral character, as well as people-oriented leaders who communicate the importance of good values to the firm” [6] (p. 168)
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