High Moral Intensity Research Articles

Testing the effects of moral intensity news frames on consumer boycott intention

PurposeThis exploratory research examined how emphasizing a brand’s unethical behaviour through high moral intensity news framing influences consumer boycott intention.Design/methodology/approachThe hypotheses were tested and validated using two experimental studies that expose customers of real retail and personal care product brands to news articles that have high and low moral intensity news frames.FindingsThe results showed high moral intensity news framing’s positive effect on consumer boycott intention. The frame’s influence is moderated by moral awareness and partially mediated by perceived moral intensity and moral judgement. The findings suggest that consumers’ perception of the frame and their attitude towards the brand will have a substantial role in boycott intention.Practical implicationsThese research outcomes aid in the understanding of news framing effects on boycott intention, providing both insights for consumer activists and managerial implications for stewards of brands.Originality/valueWhile previous research have examined the impact of news frames on the typical audience, there has been relatively little focus on news framing’s impact on consumers and their decision to boycott brands. This study addresses this gap by applying the work on emphasis framing to a consumer decision-making context. It also introduces moral intensity framing to the news frame classification. In addition, this study expands current conceptualizations of individual ethical decision-making to help explain consumer boycott intent.

CSR and CEO’s Moral Reasoning in the Automotive Industry in the Era of COVID-19

This paper assesses whether and to which extent the COVID-19 pandemic, which represents a scenario of high moral intensity, is influencing the moral reasoning of top CEOs (chief executive officers) in the paradigmatic case of the automotive industry and how this moral reasoning relates to their CSR response to the crisis and their CSR plans in the long run. To this end, we took the CEO letters before and after the pandemic outbreak of the top 15 automotive companies, and applied Weber’s method to conduct a moral reasoning categorization, along with an examination of their CSR approach and initiatives. The results show a predominant moral paralysis among these CEOs, where positive reactions addressed are philanthropic in nature and more likely to be a transient response to the crisis, rather than a sustained long-term improvement of their CSR rooted in a significant moral approach enhancement. Furthermore, CEOs at the lowest stages of moral reasoning, primarily focused on their own business and immediate stakeholders, are less likely to highlight these philanthropic initiatives. The outcome evidences the convenience of addressing CSR from the lens of moral reasoning, and it further draws the attention of the scientific community, companies and their top management, stakeholders, and society to the relevance of investigating and considering the moral reasoning of top management in large corporations and its implications.

That's wrong... but it's good! How moral decoupling allows consumers to feel less guilty about supporting companies involved in unethical conduct

ABSTRACT Consumers often continue to support companies involved in unethical conduct. Yet, a theoretical understanding of such behavior is lacking. This study aims to demonstrate that moral decoupling enables consumers to offer continuous support for companies involved in unethical conduct by reducing feelings of guilt in the purchase decision. It further intends to explore how personality traits moderate the influence of decoupling mechanisms on purchase intentions and to show how the moral intensity of misconduct affects consumersʻ activation of moral decoupling. Four empirical studies were conducted, revealing that decoupling explains purchase intentions both directly and indirectly through guilt. The study also shows that consumersʻ empathic concern and moral identity moderate decoupling processes. High moral intensity of unethical conduct diminished engagement in moral decoupling.

Determinan Intensi Whistleblowing Internal pada OPD Kabupaten Purbalingga

This research aims to examine the determinants of internal whistleblowing intention at OPD Purbalingga Regency. The determinants of internal whistleblowing intention need to be examined because Indonesia is one of the countries with a high level of fraud. This research used primary data in the form questionnaires with purposive sampling method. The sample used in this study were 27 Regional Apparatus Organizations (OPD) in Purbalingga Regency, Central Java Province. The variables examined in this study were professional commitment, ethical environment, moral intensity, and personal cost. This research used descriptive analysis and multiple linear regression analysis. The results of this study indicate that professional commitment, ethical environment, moral intensity, and personal cost have a positive and partial effect on the intention to conduct internal whistleblowing at the Regional Apparatus Organization (OPD) of Purbalingga Regency. A person with a high moral intensity tends to have a high intensity to whistleblowing. This means that morals are often an important limitation for a person to take action. A person with high moral boundaries will not like anything beyond the existing moral rules.

The Effect of Pressure Groups and the Moral Intensity on School Administrators’ Unethical Behavior: An Evaluation According to Teachers' Opinions

In this study, it was aimed to determine the effect of pressure groups and moral intensity on school administrators' unethical behaviors according to teachers' opinions. The study group of the research, which is causal comparative research, consists of 313 teachers. The research data have been collected by adapting the Openness to Violation of Ethical Decision (OVED) scale. In the research, descriptive statistics, one-way ANOVA with repeated measures and two-way ANOVA for factorial design have been applied. In the research, it has been found out that the school administrators’ possibility of behaving unethically varies according to the moral intensity and pressure groups. As the moral intensity decreases, it can be stated that the school administrators’ possibility of behaving unethically increases when the demand comes from bureaucratic and political pressure groups. The school administrators’ possibility of performing an unethical act with both low and high moral intensity shows a meaningful difference according to the pressure group and the level of relationship between the teacher and the administrator. School administrators’ possibility of performing an unethical act with high moral intensity shows a meaningful difference according to teacher’s gender. At the end of the study, some suggestions have been made by considering the limitations and results of the research.

Organizational Ethical Culture, Moral Reasoning: Pengaruhnya terhadap Ethical Decision Making dan whistleblowing intention

This study aims to investigate the factors that can encourage individuals to do whistleblowing. Factors that are predicted to affect whistleblowing intention are organizational Ethical Culture and Moral intensity and Ethical Decision Making. The sample in this study were 63 respondents. Total questionnaires distributed were 78 questionnaires, but as many as 65 questionnaires were returned, there were 2 questionnaires that were not filled out completely, so were excluded from testing. Data analysis techniques in this study used SEM-PLS. The results of this study found a positive effect of organizational ethical culture on whistleblowing intention. This shows that organizations that have a high ethical culture tend to have high whistleblowing intentions. The next finding is that moral intensity has a positive effect on ethical decission making and whistleblowing intention. This shows that individuals who have high moral intensity decisions that are made tend to be more ethical. The final finding in this research is ethical decision making which has a positive effect on whistleblowing intention. the higher the Ethical Decision Making, the higher the Whistleblowing Intention. When someone is able to make decisions ethically, it will go hand in hand with the whistleblowing intention
 

The Effects of Spirituality and Moral Intensity on Ethical Business Decisions: A Cross-Sectional Study

We present a cross-sectional study of ethical decision-making correlated with spirituality and utilizing moral intensity as a moderator for workers in the Southeastern United States (N = 117). This study presents spirituality as an individual variable and moral intensity as a situational variable along with ethical decision-making to examine the interaction of these factors in moral dilemmas. Utilizing previously validated instruments for ethical decision-making and individual spirituality, we find that workers with relatively high measured spirituality made less ethical decisions compared to workers with relatively lower measures of spirituality. Further, we find that the introduction of high moral intensity as a situational variable does not moderate the observed correlation between spirituality and ethical decision-making. This research supports the conceptual nature of the Interactionist Theory by presenting in a single study both individual and situational variables in ethical decision-making.

Logisticians’ ethical decision-making: does the psychological safety team matter?

ABSTRACT This study mobilizes the concept of team psychological safety to study the link between ethical decision-making and the feeling of safety perceived within their team. This research examines a logistician’s ethical judgments depending on a moral intensity dimension. Based on a population of 260 European professional logisticians, the study uses 12 scenarios that have been designed to describe logistical situations. A first sample of 123 purchasers was given a low moral intensity questionnaire and a second group, composed of 137 other purchasers, answered another questionnaire with a high moral intensity. The findings reveal that the moral intensity, clear direction, team leader coaching and team learning behaviors intensity have a positive impact on judgment of 2 scenarios : social consensus and temporality.

The Impact of Locus of Control, Moral Intensity, and the Microsocial Ethical Environment on Purchasing-Related Ethical Reasoning

This study uses a sample of 242 European professional purchasers to examine the six characteristics of the decision-making process developed by Jones (Acad Manag Rev 16:366–395, 1991). The illustration mobilizes six original scenarios reproducing typical purchasing situations. Two versions of each scenario were used, one representing low moral intensity and the other showing high moral intensity. Two populations were sampled: one of 120 purchasers responding to the first version of the questionnaire and a second of 122 different purchasers responding to version two. Each version contained three low-moral-intensity scenarios and three high-moral-intensity scenarios. The research also investigates two concepts suggested by Hannah et al. (Acad Manag Rev 36(4):663–685, 2011): examining the complexity of ethical decision-making through scenarios and microsocial professional ethical contexts. The findings reveal that neither traditional individual characteristics (gender, age, experience) nor standard company characteristics (type of activity, company size) have a real impact on two stages of Rest’s (Moral development: Advances in research and theory. Praeger Press, New York, 1986) model (awareness and intention). They also show that internal locus of control and a high microsocial ethical environment have a positive impact on purchaser awareness and intention to act ethically for four of the six dimensions: magnitude of consequences, social consensus, temporal immediacy, and concentration of effect. Moral intensity factors also have a positive impact on these four dimensions. The two other dimensions (probability of effect and proximity) are not related to the independent variables.

Effects of ethical leadership on emotional exhaustion in high moral intensity situations

Emotional exhaustion is a threat to standard operations, particularly in organizations in which physical safety is at risk. High moral intensity is inherent in such organizations due to the magnitude of consequences associated with ethical/unethical conduct. The authors proposed a psychological process in which ethical leadership affects emotional exhaustion directly and indirectly through team cohesion. As military operational contexts typically are (or frequently have the potential to become) high moral intensity situations, the authors tested their model among 338 military personnel deployed in combat zones. They found that: (1) team cohesion partially mediated the relationship between ethical leadership and emotional exhaustion, and (2) this psychological process of direct and indirect effects of ethical leadership did not hold among individuals approaching the low end of conscientiousness.

Whistleblowing in Audit Firms: Organizational Response and Power Distance

ABSTRACT:This paper investigates auditors' likelihood to report observations of colleagues' unethical behavior. We consider whether two characteristics that are particularly relevant to the audit environment, prior organizational response and power distance, affect willingness to report. Data collected from 106 senior-level auditors suggest auditors are more likely to report on their peers than on their superiors, but they are more likely to report superiors when prior organizational response is strong than when it is weak. Additionally, men appear to be relatively less sensitive to variations in power distance or prior organization response than women. Moral intensity of the case is significantly related to reporting likelihood, and power distance moderates this effect such that those who perceive this scenario to be of lower moral intensity are much more influenced by power distance than are those who perceive it to be of high moral intensity. These results contribute to the existing literature on accounting ethics, as well as inform public accounting governance policies.

Effects of organizational ethical culture on the ethical decisions of tax practitioners in mainland China

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of organizational ethical culture on the ethical decisions of tax practitioners in mainland China.Design/methodology/approachThe study is based on a field survey of practicing public accountants.FindingsAs hypothesized, certain dimensions of ethical culture had highly significant effects on intentions to engage in aggressive tax minimization strategies. Cultures characterized by strong ethical norms and incentives for ethical behavior significantly reduced the reported likelihood of engaging in unethical behavior in a high moral intensity case. In a low moral intensity case, intentions to engage in questionable behavior were significantly higher when participants felt that top managers in their firm were unethical and rewarded unethical behavior. Relativism judgments (judgments of what is traditionally or culturally acceptable or acceptable to one's family) emerged as the strongest determinant of behavioral intentions across both cases. Participants also appeared highly sensitive to questions regarding what is traditionally or culturally acceptable in Chinese tax practice.Originality/valueThis is the first study of ethical decision making among tax practitioners in mainland China, and the findings add to a growing body of literature documenting the significant effects of organizational ethical context on public accountants' decision making processes. This has important implications for CPA firms, suggesting that proactive steps should be taken to promote supportive ethical contexts. The findings for the effects of relativism judgments raise concerns regarding the ethical decisions of Chinese tax practitioners, implying they are likely to engage in unethical behavior if they feel such behavior is common in their cultural environment.

Values and person‐organization fit

PurposeThis study seeks to explore the relationship between corporate ethical values and person‐organization fit (P‐O fit) and the effects on organization commitment and job satisfaction. Further, it aims to examine the construct of moral intensity as a moderator of the P‐O fit‐commitment relationship as well as the P‐O fit‐job satisfaction relationship.Design/methodology/approachUsing a sample of 489 members of the National Purchasing Association in the USA, a structural model was examined in which it was hypothesized that corporate ethical values would be positively related to person‐organization fit and P‐O fit in turn would be positively related to commitment and job satisfaction. It was further hypothesized that the outcomes associated with P‐O fit would be moderated by moral intensity such that high moral intensity would strengthen the P‐O fit outcomes relationships.FindingsAll of the hypotheses were supported.Research limitations/implicationsAll data stem from one data source, introducing the possibility of mono‐source bias. Additionally, all scales use self‐reports, introducing the possibility of mono‐method bias.Practical implicationsThese results highlight the importance of corporate ethical values and moral intensity in building and maintaining an ethical and committed workforce.Originality/valueThe findings of this study contribute to the ethics and P‐O fit literature by establishing a link between corporate ethical values and P‐O fit. It further construes moral intensity as a subjective variable based on the perceiver rather than an objective characteristic of ethical issues. Moral intensity was found to strengthen the relationships between P‐O fit and satisfaction and P‐O fit and commitment.

Leadership and Ethical Justice Behavior in a High Moral Intensity Operational Context

The present study explores the relationship between moral behavior in a high moral intensity context and leadership behavior in Norwegian naval officer cadets (N = 82). Peer ratings of leadership behavior were used as predictor variables, and ethical justice behavior, defined as the disclosure of sensitive information in a demanding prisoner-of-war exercise, was used as an outcome measure. A hierarchical regression analysis revealed that transactional leadership explained 19% of the variance in ethical justice behavior, whereas transformational leadership did not augment this effect. However, in a model including all facets of the full range of leadership model, 25% of the variance in leaders' ethical justice behaviors was accounted for, with high scores on the transformational facet of Intellectual Stimulation (β = −.45, p < .05) and low on Individual Consideration (β = .44, p < .05) combined with high scores on the transactional facet Contingent Reward (β = −.68, p < .01) as significant predictors. The present data indicate that there is a strong component of ethical behavior embedded in both transactional and transformational leadership.

Design and Validation of a Novel New Instrument for Measuring the Effect of Moral Intensity on Accountants’ Propensity to Manage Earnings

The goal of this study was to construct a valid new instrument to measure the effect of moral intensity on managers’ propensity to manage earnings. More specifically, this study is a pilot study of the impact of moral intensity on financial accountants’ propensity to manage earnings. The instrument, once validated, will be used in a full-study of managers in the hotel industry. Different ethical scenarios were presented to respondents in the survey; each ethical scenario was designed in both high or low moral intensity form, to reflect the importance of the moral dilemma at hand. The results were analysed by factor analysis. The findings of this study have positively validated the instrument, with three of the five moral intensity components identified as having appropriate eigenvalues. This indicates that they have a significant influence in the study. The first factor captures the social consensus dimension and one scenario of the proximity dimension. The second factor indicates an interaction between the temporal immediacy and the magnitude of consequences dimension. The third dimension is probability of effect and one scenario of the proximity dimension. In addition, t-tests indicated that the manipulation of high and low conditions within each scenario were also successful. One limitation of the study might be the use of undergraduate accounting students as manager proxies, although prior evidence suggests use of accounting students as proxies is a valid approach in this type of study. This is a highly novel project as most prior studies have focussed on moral intensity and the general ethical decision-making process.

Using the PET Assessment Instrument to Help Students Identify Factors that Could Impede Moral Behavior

We present an instrument developed to explain to students the concept of the personal ethical threshold (PET). The PET represents an individual’s susceptibility to situational pressure in his or her organization that makes moral behavior more personally difficult. Further, the PET varies according to the moral intensity of the issue at hand, such that individuals are less vulnerable to situational pressure for issues of high moral intensity, i.e., those with greater consequences for others. A higher PET reflects an individual’s greater likelihood of adhering to the morally correct path, even in the face of high situational pressures (personal costs) and low moral intensity (collective importance). PET questionnaires were completed by 506 students representing eight business schools throughout the United States. Relationships between respondents’ PET and their gender, age, and major field of study, as well as the geographical location of their school, are explored. Results indicate that older students have higher PETs and that students attending schools in the northeastern part of the United States have lower PETs. These findings are discussed. It is argued that the PET instrument can be used to help students identify organizational pressures and intrapersonal processes that can impede their moral behavior in organizations.

The Effect of Moral Intensity on Ethical Judgment

Following an extensive review of the moral intensity literature, this article reports the findings of two studies (one between-subjects, the other within-subject) that examined the effect of manipulated and perceived moral intensity on ethical judgment. In the between-subjects study participants judged actions taken in manipulated high moral intensity scenarios to be more unethical than the same actions taken in manipulated low moral intensity scenarios. Findings were mixed for the effect of perceived moral intensity. Both probable magnitude of consequences (a factor consisting of magnitude of consequences, probability of effect, and temporal immediacy) and social consensus had a significant effect; proximity did not. In the within-subject study manipulated moral intensity had a significant effect on ethical judgment, but perceived moral intensity did not. Regression of ethical judgment on age, gender, major, and the three perceived moral intensity factors was significant between-subjects, but not within-subject. Ethical judgment was found to be a more robust predictor of intention than perceived moral intensity using a within-subject design.

The effect of organizational culture and ethical orientation on accountants' ethical judgments

This paper examines the relationship between organizational ethical culture in two large international CPA firms, auditors' personal values and the ethical orientation that those values dictate, and judgments in ethical dilemmas typical of those that accountants face. Using an experimental task consisting of multiple judgments designed to vary in "moral intensity" (Jones, 1991), and unique as well as tried-and-true approaches to variable measurements, this study examined the judgments of more than three hundred participants in our study. ANCOVA and path analysis results indicate that: (1) Ethical judgments in situations of high moral intensity are affected by personal values and by environmental variables, such as the professional code of conduct (direct and indirect effects) and previous ethics instruction (direct effect only). (2) Corporate ethical culture, and a relatively strong firm rules-orientation, affect auditors' idealism but not relativism, and therefore indirectly affect ethical judgments. Jones' (1991) moral intensity argument is supported: differences in the characteristics of specific judgment tasks apparently result in different decision processes.