Abstract
The field of behavioral ethics has seen considerable growth over the last few decades. One of the most significant concerns facing this interdisciplinary field of research is the moral judgment-action gap. The moral judgment-action gap is the inconsistency people display when they know what is right but do what they know is wrong. Much of the research in the field of behavioral ethics is based on (or in response to) early work in moral psychology and American psychologist Lawrence Kohlberg’s foundational cognitive model of moral development. However, Kohlberg’s model of moral development lacks a compelling explanation for the judgment-action gap. Yet, it continues to influence theory, research, teaching, and practice in business ethics today. As such, this paper presents a critical review and analysis of the pertinent literature. This paper also reviews modern theories of ethical decision making in business ethics. Gaps in our current understanding and directions for future research in behavioral business ethics are presented. By providing this important theoretical background information, targeted critical analysis, and directions for future research, this paper assists management scholars as they begin to seek a more unified approach, develop newer models of ethical decision making, and conduct business ethics research that examines the moral judgment-action gap.
Highlights
Business scholars are still working to discover what spurs ethical behaviors that improve profit maximization and corporate social performance. This focus on understanding ethical decision making in business in a way that bridges the moral judgment-moral action gap has experienced an explosion of interest in recent decades (Bazerman and Sezer 2016; Paik et al 2017; Treviño et al 2014). These types of studies constitute a branch of behavioral ethics research that incorporates moral philosophy, moral psychology, and business ethics
This article provides a useful reference for behavioral business ethics scholars on cognitive moral development and its indirect but important influence on research today
The first goal of this paper is to examine the moral development theory in behavioral business ethics that comes first to mind for most laypersons and practitioners—the cognitive approach
Summary
Scandals in business never seem to end. Even when one scandal seems to end, another company outdoes the prior disgraced company and dominates the public dialog on corporate ethics (c.f., Chelliah and Swamy 2018; Merle 2018). Business scholars are still working to discover what spurs ethical behaviors that improve profit maximization and corporate social performance This focus on understanding ethical decision making in business in a way that bridges the moral judgment-moral action gap has experienced an explosion of interest in recent decades (Bazerman and Sezer 2016; Paik et al 2017; Treviño et al 2014). These types of studies constitute a branch of behavioral ethics research that incorporates moral philosophy, moral psychology, and business ethics. This article provides a useful reference for behavioral business ethics scholars on cognitive moral development and its indirect but important influence on research today
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