Research Tidbits

A selection of interesting research and articles we found recently. Does the head lead the heart in trust with ethical leadership and OCBs? Yes, according to an investigation into the trust underlying the relationship between ethical leadership and followers’ organisational citizenship behaviours (OCBs). Ethical leadership leads to the development of cognitive trust, which subsequently influences the development of affective trust. Based on survey data obtained from 184 employees and their supervisors, Alexander Newman and his [...]

A selection of interesting research and articles we found recently. Do individual or societal values predict ethical behaviour in global workforces? In a huge project, David Ralston and 47 other researchers investigated whether the societal-level of analysis is sufficient to understand the values of those in the global workforce. Or whether individual-level analyses are more appropriate for assessing the influence of values on ethical behaviours across country workforces. Using multi-level analyses for a 48-society sample, the [...]

A selection of interesting research and articles we found recently. Why don’t organisational leaders always conform to organisational goals?  Anne Joosten, Marius van Dijke, Alain Van Hiel and David De Cremer argue that the constant pressure that leaders face can limit their willpower to behave according to ethical norms and standards. The result may be unethical behaviour. Joosten et al. examined whether depleted self-regulation mechanisms in leaders could be linked to leader moral identity in promoting [...]

A selection of interesting research and articles we’ve found recently. Business schools influence ethical behaviour in business Thomas Birtch and Flora Chiang have concluded that business schools do influence ethical behaviour and socially responsible actions in the business community. At least among 318 undergraduate business students, ethical climate in the business school predicted unethical behaviour. Students who viewed their business school’s ethical climate positively were more likely to refrain from unethical behaviours. Business schools clearly have [...]

A selection of interesting research and articles we’ve found recently. Insights from ethical executives Colina Frisch and Markus Huppenbauer investigated several questions about ethical leaders. They asked: What specific behaviours does an ethical leader show? Is ethical leadership mainly about leader behaviour towards employees or does it involve other stakeholders? If so, which ethical behaviours does the ethical leader show towards them? What are further antecedents and consequences of ethical leadership? Their qualitative study involving 17 [...]

A selection of interesting research and articles we've found recently. Deepwater Horizon backlash on BP Sabine Matejek and Tobias Gössling investigated the Deepwater Horizon catastrophe in 2010, during which BP was accused of huge discrepancy between its communications about corporate responsibility and what it actually did operationally. The study focuses on the processes of building, losing, and repairing environmental legitimacy based on the Deepwater Horizon case. BP introduced its “beyond petroleum”-rebranding and the “making this right”-campaign [...]