Abstract
During the last decade, scholars of business ethics have become increasingly interested in the construct of moral courage. However, despite the importance of understanding both moral courage and the factors that might facilitate its expression, this topic has still received relatively limited study and several areas have been identified as being in need of further exploration. These include the need to investigate courage from within a full range of theoretical frameworks, including feminist ones, from within which, little is yet known about this construct; the need for developmental perspectives on moral courage; and, the identification of developmentally informed approaches for facilitating its expression. This article responds to these needs by providing a conceptual framework for understanding moral courage through a feminist and developmental ethic of care, and by describing the implications of this framework for the expression of moral courage in business and organizational settings.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Notes
Examples of the interrelationships among various types of courage will become clearer following the discussion of moral courage in the subsequent section of the article. In particular, definitions of moral courage reflect concern with maintaining ethical authenticity or integrity even in the face of serious personal consequences such as social ostracism. Hence, to the extent to which individuals enact moral courage and suffer its personal consequences, those individuals might subsequently require psychological or vital courage to persevere and live life more fully through those consequences. Alternately, given the centrality of personal responsibility and authenticity to both psychological or vital courage on one hand (e.g., Putnam 2010) and moral courage on the other hand (e.g., Worline 2010), it is possible that the will to live more fully often associated with psychological courage might support the expression of moral courage.
Sensitivity to relational violation is dependent on capacity for empathy. Contemporary research in this area suggests that individuals are biologically predisposed toward empathic sensitivities and expression from birth. However, various forms of human interaction throughout development facilitate the maturation and expression of these empathic skills. Moreover, it is possible not simply that biological predispositions help structure learning, but that learning about empathy also impacts biological structure (Greenspan 1997; Hoffman 2000; see for review, Rifkin 2009).
References
Aquino, K., & Reed, A. (2002). The self-importance of moral identity. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 83(6), 1423–1440.
Basil, D. S., Runte, M. S., Easwaramoorthy, M., & Barr, C. (2009). Company support for employee volunteering: A national survey of companies in Canada. Journal of Business Ethics, 85, 387–398.
Batson, C. (2002). Addressing the altruism question experimentally. In S. Post, L. Underwood, J. Schloss, & W. Hurlbut (Eds.), Altruism and altruistic love: Science, philosophy, and religion in dialogue (pp. 89–105). Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
Becker, S. W., & Eagly, A. H. (2004). The heroism of women and men. American Psychologist, 59(30), 163–178.
Bird, F. B. (2002). The muted conscience: Moral silence and the practice of ethics in business. Westport, CT: Quorum Books.
Blasi A. (1980). Bridging moral cognition and moral action: A critical review of the literature. Psychological Bulletin, 88(1), 1–45.
Blasi, A. (1984). Moral identity: Its role in moral functioning. In W. M. Kurtines & J. L. Gewirtz (Eds.), Morality, moral behavior, and moral development (pp. 128–139). New York: Wiley.
Brown, L. M. (1991). Telling a girl’s life: Self-authorization as a form of resistance. In C. Gilligan, A. G. Rogers, & D. L. Tolman (Eds.), Women, girls and psychotherapy: Reframing resistance (pp. 71–82). New York: Harrington Park Press.
Brown, L. M., & Gilligan, C. (1992). Meeting at the crossroads: Women’s psychology and girls’ development. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Cameron, K. S., & Spreitzer, G. M. (2012). The Oxford handbook of positive organizational scholarship. New York: Oxford University Press.
Cascio, W. F. (2006). Decency means more than “always low prices”: A comparison of Costco to Wal-Mart’s Sam’s Club. Academy of Management Perspectives, 20(3), 26–37.
Chu, J. (2000). Learning what boys know: An observational and interview study with six four year old boys. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Graduate School of Education, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA.
Colby, A., & Damon, W. (1992). Some do care: Contemporary lives of moral commitment. New York: The Free Press.
Comer, D. R., & Vega, G. (2011). Introduction: Why moral courage matters in organizations. In D. R. Comer & G. Vega (Eds.), Moral courage in organizations: Doing the right thing at work (pp. iv–xv). Armon, NY: M.E. Sharpe Inc.
Damasio, A. (1994). Descartes’ error. Boston: Norton.
Damon, W. (2004). The moral advantage: How to succeed in business by doing the right thing. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler Publishers Inc.
Debold, E., Brown, L., Weseen, S., & Brookins, G. K. (1999). Cultivating hardiness zones for adolescent girls: A reconceptualization of resilience in relationships with caring adults. In N. Johnson, M. Roberts & J. Worell (Eds.), Beyond appearances: A new look at adolescent girls (pp. 181–204). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
de Gilder, D., Schuyt, T. M. N., & Breedijk, M. (2005). Effects of an employee volunteering program on the work force: The ABN-AMRO case. Journal of Business Ethics, 61, 143–152.
Derry, R. (2005). Care, ethics of. In P. H. Werhane & R. E. Freeman (Eds.), The Blackwell encyclopedia of management, Business ethics (2nd ed., pp. 65–68). Malden: Blackwell.
Eisenberg, N., & Fabes, R. A. (1998). Prosocial development. In W. Damon (Series Ed.) & N. Eisenberg (Vol. Ed.), Handbook of child psychology: Vol. 3: Social, emotional, and personality development (5th ed., pp. 701–778). New York: Wiley.
Ely, R. J., & Thomas, D. A. (2001). Cultural diversity at work: The effects of diversity perspectives on work group processes and outcome. Administrative Science Quarterly, 46(2), 229–272.
Erikson, E. H. (1964). Insight and responsibility. New York: Norton.
Fagin-Jones, S., & Midlarsky, E. (2007). Courageous altruism: Personal and situational correlates of rescue during the holocaust. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 2(2), 136–147.
Fletcher, J. K. (1999). Disappearing acts: Gender, power and relational practice at work. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Fogelman, E. (1994). Conscience and courage: Rescuers of Jews during the Holocaust. New York, NY: Anchor Books.
Freud, S. (1900/1913). Interpretation of dreams (A. A. Brill, Trans, 1913). New York: Macmillan.
Freud, S. (1916/1976). The standard edition of the complete psychological works of Sigmund Freud (Translated under the editorship of J. Strachey). New York: W.W. Norton & Company.
Gilligan, C. (1982). In a different voice. Boston: Harvard University Press.
Gilligan, C. (1988a). Exit-voice dilemmas in adolescent development. In C. Gilligan, J. V. Ward, & J. M. Taylor (Eds.), Mapping the moral domain: A contribution of women’s thinking to psychological theory and education (pp. 141–158). Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Gilligan, C. (1988b). Prologue: Adolescent development reconsidered. In C. Gilligan, J. V. Ward, & J. M. Taylor (Eds.), Mapping the moral domain: A contribution of women’s thinking to psychological theory and education (pp. vii–xxxix). Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Gilligan, C. (1991). Women’s psychological development: Implications for psychotherapy. In C. Gilligan, A. G. Rogers, & D. L. Tolman (Eds.), Women, girls, & psychotherapy: Reframing resistance (pp. 5–32). New York: Harrington Park Press.
Gilligan, C. (2003). Hearing the difference: Theorizing connection. Anuario de Psicologia, 34(2), 144–156.
Gilligan, C. (2004). Recovering psyche: Reflections on life history and history. The Annals of Psychoanalysis, 32, 131–147.
Gilligan, C. (2010). Joining the resistance. Cambridge, MA: Polity Press.
Gilligan, C., & Attanucci, J. (1988). Two moral orientations. In C. Gilligan, J. V. Ward, & J. M. Taylor (Eds.), Mapping the moral domain: A contribution of women’s thinking to psychological theory and education (pp. 73–86). Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Gilligan, C., Rogers, A. G., & Tolman, D. L. (Eds.). (1991). Women, girls, & psychotherapy: Reframing resistance. New York: Harrington Park Press.
Gini, A. (2011). A short primer on moral courage. In D. R. Comer & G. Vega (Eds.), Moral courage in organizations: Doing the right thing at work (pp. 3–12). Armon, NY: M.E. Sharpe Inc.
Glazer, M. P., & Glazer, P. M. (1989). The whistleblowers: Exposing corruption in government and industry. New York: Basic Books.
Glazer, M. P., & Glazer, P. M. (1999). On the trail of courageous behavior. Sociological Inquiry, 69(2), 276–295.
Graham, J. W. (1986). Principled organizational dissent: A theoretical essay. Research in Organizational Behavior, 8, 1–52.
Greenspan, S. (with B. L. Benderly). (1997). The growth of the mind: And the endangered origins of intelligence. Reading, MA: Addison Wesley.
Haidt, J. (2001). The emotional dog and its rational tail: A social intuitionist approach to moral judgment. Psychological Review, 108, 814–834.
Hamington, M. (2004). Embodied care: Jane Addams, Maurice Merleau-Ponty, and feminist ethics. Chicago: University of Illinois Press.
Hamington, M. (2008). Resources for feminist care ethics in Merleau-Ponty’s phenomenology of the body. In G. Weiss (Ed.), Intertwinings: Interdisciplinary encounters with Merleau-Ponty (pp. 203–220). Albany, NY: University of Illinois Press.
Hannah, S. T., Avolio, B. J., & Walumbwa, F. O. (2011). Relationships between authentic leadership, moral courage, and ethical and pro-social behaviors. Business Ethics Quarterly, 21(4), 555–578.
Hannah, S. T., Sweeney, P. J., & Lester, P. B. (2010). The courageous mind-set: A dynamic personality system approach to courage. In C. L. S. Pury & S. J. Lopez (Eds.), The psychology of courage (pp. 125–148). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Hart, D. (2005). The development of moral identity. In: G. Carlo & C. P. Edwards (Eds.), Moral motivation throughout the lifespan (Vol. 51, pp. 165–195). Nebraska symposium on motivation. Lincoln, NB: Nebraska University Press.
Hart, D., Atkins, R., & Ford, D. (1998). Urban America as a context for the development of moral identity in adolescence. Journal of Social Issues, 54, 513–530.
Hart, D., & Carlo, G. (2005). Moral development in adolescence. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 15(3), 223–233.
Hart, D., & Fegley, S. (1995). Altruism and caring in adolescence: Relations to moral judgment and self-understanding. Child Development, 66, 1346–1359.
Hirschman, A. O. (1970). Exit, voice, and loyalty: Responses to decline in firms, organizations, and states. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Hoffman, M. L. (2000). Empathy and moral development: Implications for caring and justice. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Johnston, D. K. (1988). Adolescents’ solutions to dilemmas in fables. In C. Gilligan, J. V. Ward, & J. M. Taylor (Eds.), Mapping the moral domain: A contribution of women’s thinking to psychological theory and education (pp. 49–72). Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Jordan, J. V. (1990). Courage in connection: Conflict, compassion, creativity. Wellesley, MA: Wellesley Centers for Women.
Jordan, J. V. (2013). The power of connection: Recent developments in relational-cultural theory. New York: Routledge, Chapman, & Hall.
Jordan, J. V., Walker, M., & Hartling, L. M. (2004). The complexity of connection. New York: Guilford Press.
Kidder, R. M. (2005). Moral courage, digital distrust: Ethics in a troubled world. Business and Society Review, 110(4), 485–505.
Kohlberg, L. (1969). Stages in the development of moral thought and action. New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston.
Kohlberg, L. (1976). Moral stages and moralization: The cognitive-developmental approach. In T. Lickona (Ed.), Moral development and behavior (pp. 31–53). New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston.
Kohn S. M. (2011). For the greater good: The moral courage of Whistleblowers. In D. R. Comer & G. Vega (Eds.), Moral courage in organizations: Doing the right thing at work (pp. 60–74). Armon, NY: M.E. Sharpe, Inc.
Lacayo, R., & Ripley, A. (2002). Persons of the year 2002: The whistleblowers. Time Magazine. Retrieved February 16, 2012, from http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,1003998,00.html.
Lawford, H., Pratt, M. W., Hunsberger, B., & Pancer, S. M. (2005). Adolescent generativity: A longitudinal study of two possible contexts for learning concern for future generations. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 15(3), 261–273.
Lester, P. B., Vogelgesang, G. R., Hannah, S. T., & Kimmey, T. (2010). Developing courage in followers: Theoretical and applied perspectives. In C. L. S. Pury & S. J. Lopez (Eds.), The psychology of courage (pp. 187–207). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Lopez, S. J., O’Byrne, K. K., & Peterson, S. (2003). Profiling courage. In S. J. Lopez & C. R. Snyder (Eds.), Positive psychological assessment: A handbook of models and measures (pp. 185–197). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Lopez, S. J., Rasmussen, H. N., Skorupski, W. P., et al. (2010). Folk conceptualizations of courage. In C. L. S. Pury & S. J. Lopez (Eds.), The psychology of courage (pp. 23–46). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Lopez, S. J., & Snyder, C. R. (2009). Oxford handbook of positive psychology (2nd ed.). New York: Oxford University Press.
MacDonald, G. J. (2011). Faith and moral courage: Why a sense of calling matters. In D. R. Comer & G. Vega (Eds.), Moral courage in organizations: Doing the right thing at work (pp. 65–87). Armon, NY: M.E. Sharpe Inc.
Mainemelis, C., & Ronson, S. (2006). Ideas are born in fields of play: Towards a theory of play and creativity in organizational settings. Research in Organizational Behavior, 27, 81–131.
Matsuba, M. K., & Walker, L. J. (2005). Young adult moral exemplars: The making of self through stories. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 15(3), 275–297.
Matt, B. F., & Shahinpoor, N. (2011). The courageous organizational dissenter. In D. R. Comer & G. Vega (Eds.), Moral courage in organizations: Doing the right thing at work (pp. 157–170). Armon, NY: M.E. Sharpe Inc.
Michaelson, C. (2005). Dealing with swindlers and devils: Literature and business ethics. Journal of Business Ethics, 58, 359–373.
Milgrim, S. (1974). Obedience to authority. New York: Harper & Row.
Miller, J. B., & Stiver, I. P. (1997). The healing connection. Boston: Beacon Press.
Noddings, N. (1984). Caring: A feminine approach to ethics and moral education. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.
Oliner, S. P., & Oliner, P. M. (1988) The altruistic personality. New York, NY: Free Press.
Osswald, S., Greitemeyer, T., Fischer, P., & Frey, D. (2010). What is moral courage? Definition, explication, and classification of a complex construct. In C. L. S. Pury & S. J. Lopez (Eds.), The psychology of courage (pp. 149–164). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Palmer, P. J. (2011). Healing the heart of democracy: The courage to create a politics worthy of the human spirit. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Peterson, C., & Seligman, M. E. P. (2004). Character strengths and virtues: A handbook and classification New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
Pury, C. L. S., & Lopez, S. J. (2010). Introduction. In C. L. S. Pury & S. J. Lopez (Eds.), The psychology of courage. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Pury C. L. S., Kowalski, R. M., & Spearman, J. (2007) Distinctions between general and personal courage. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 2(2), 99–114.
Putnam, D. (1997) The emotions of courage. Philosophy, Psychiatry, and Psychology, 4(1), 1–11.
Putnam, D. (2010). Philosophical roots of the concept of courage. In C. L. S. Pury & S. J. Lopez (Eds.), The psychology of courage (pp. 9–22). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Rate, C. R. (2010). Defining the features of courage: A search for meaning. In C. L. S. Pury & S. J. Lopez (Eds.), The psychology of courage (pp. 47–66). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Rate, C. R., Clarke, J., Lindsay, D., & Sternberg, R. J. (2007). Implicit theories of courage. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 2(2), 80–98.
Rate, C. R., & Sternberg, R. J. (2007). When good people do nothing: A failure of courage. In J. Langan-Fox, C. L. Cooper, & R. J. Klimoski (Eds.), Research companion to the dysfunctional workplace (pp. 3–21). Northampton, MA: Edward Elgar.
Reed-Woodward, M. A. (2009). Reading lessons at work: How a book club is changing conversations around diversity. In Black enterprise. Earl G. Graves Publishing Co., Inc. Highbeam Research. Retrieved June 8, 2010, from http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-194810507.html.
Reimer, K. (2003). Committed to caring: Transformation in adolescent moral identity. Applied Developmental Science, 7(3), 129–137.
Rest, J. R. (1986). Moral development: Advances in research and theory. New York: Praeger.
Rest, J. R. (1994). Background: Theory and research. In J. R. Rest & D. Narvaez (Eds.), Moral development in the professions: Psychology and applied ethics (pp. 1–26). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Rest, J. R., Narvaez, D., Bebeau, M. J., & Thoma, S. J. (1991). Postconventional moral thinking: A neo-Kohlbergian approach. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
Reynolds, S. J. (2006a). A neurocognitive model of the ethical decision-making process: Implications for study and practice. Journal of Applied Psychology, 91(4), 737–748.
Reynolds, S. J. (2006b). Moral awareness and ethical predispositions: Investigating the role of individual difference in the recognition of moral issues. Journal of Applied Psychology, 91(1), 233–243.
Rifkin, J. (2009). The empathic civilization: The race to global consciousness in a world in crisis. New York: Penguin Group.
Rogers, A. (1993). Voice, play, and a practice of ordinary courage in girls’ and women’s lives. Harvard Educational Review, 63(3), 265–295.
Sekera, L., & Bagozzi, R. P. (2007). Moral courage in the workplace: Moving to and from the desire and decision to act. Business Ethics: A European Review, 16(2), 132–140.
Serrat, O. (2010). Moral courage in organizations. Washington: Asian Development Bank.
Shepela, S. T., Cook, J., Horlitz, E., et al. (1999). Courageous resistance: A special case of altruism. Theory & Psychology, 9, 787–805.
Shweder, R. A., & Haidt, J. (1993). The future of moral psychology: Truth, intuition, and the pluralist way. Psychological Science, 4(6), 360–365.
Simola, S. K. (2005). Concepts of care in organizational crisis prevention. Journal of Business Ethics, 62, 341–353.
Slote, M. A. (2007). The ethics of care and empathy. New York: Routledge.
Smetana, J. G., & Metzger, A. (2005). Family and religious antecedents of civic involvement in middle class African American late adolescents. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 15(3), 325–352.
Smith, B. J. (1991). Raising a resister. In C. Gilligan, A. G. Rogers, & D. L. Tolman (Eds.), Women, girls, & psychotherapy: Reframing resistance (pp. 137–148). New York: Harrington Park Press.
Statler, M., Roos, J., & Victor, B. (2000). Ain’t misbehavin’: Taking play seriously in organizations. Journal of Change Management, 9(1), 87–107.
Staub, E. (1979). Positive social behavior and morality (vol. 2: Socialization and development). New York: Academic Press.
Staub, E. (2005). The roots of goodness: The fulfilment of basic human needs and the development of caring, helping and non-aggression, inclusive caring, moral courage, active bystandership and altruism born of suffering. In G. Carlo & C. P. Edwards (Eds.), Moral motivation throughout the lifespan (Vol. 51, pp. 33–72). Nebraska symposium on motivation. Lincoln, NB: Nebraska University Press.
Stern, L. (1991). Disavowing the self in female adolescence. In C. Gilligan, A. G. Rogers, & D. L. Tolman (Eds.), Women, girls, & psychotherapy: Reframing resistance (pp. 105–118). New York: Harrington Park Press.
Taylor, J. M., Gilligan, C., & Sullivan, A. M. (Eds.). (1995). Between voice and silence: Women and girls, race and relationship. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Tolman, D., & Brown, L. (2001). Adolescent girls’ voices: Resonating resistance in body and soul. In R. Unger (Ed.), The handbook on the psychology of women and gender (pp. 133–155). New York: Wiley.
Treviño, L. K. (1986). Ethical decision making in organizations: A person situation interactionist model. Academy of Management Review, 11, 601–617.
Tronto, J. C. (1993). Moral boundaries: A political argument for an ethic of care. New York: Routledge.
Way, N. (1998). Everyday courage: The lives and stories of urban teenagers. New York: New York University Press.
Way, N. (2011). Deep secrets: Boys’ friendships and the crisis of connection. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Weaver, G. R. (2006). Virtue in organizations: Moral identity as a foundation for moral agency. Organization Studies, 27(3), 341–368.
Woodard, C. R (2010) The courage to be authentic: Empirical and existential perspectives. In C. L. S. Pury & S. J. Lopez (Eds.), The psychology of courage (pp. 125–148). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Worline, M. C. (2010). Understanding the role of courage in social life. In C. L. S. Pury & S. J. Lopez (Eds.), The psychology of courage (pp. 209–226). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Worline, M. C., Wrzesniewski, A., & Rafaeli, A. (2002). Courage and work: Breaking routines to improve performance. In R. Lord, R. Klimoski, & R. Kanfer (Eds.), Emotions in the workplace: Understanding the structure and role of emotions in organizational behavior. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Zimbardo, P. (2007). The Lucifer effect: Understanding how good people turn evil. New York: Random House.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Simola, S. Understanding Moral Courage Through a Feminist and Developmental Ethic of Care. J Bus Ethics 130, 29–44 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-014-2203-y
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-014-2203-y