Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Corporate Ethics Practices in the Mid-1990s: An Empirical Study of the Fortune 1000

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Citation Classics from the Journal of Business Ethics

Part of the book series: Advances in Business Ethics Research ((ABER,volume 2))

Abstract

This empirical study of Fortune 1000 firms assesses the degree to which those firms have adopted various practices associated with corporate ethics programs. The study examines the following aspects of formalized corporate ethics activity: ethics-oriented policy statements; formalization of management responsibilities for ethics; free-standing ethics offices; ethics and compliance telephone reporting/advice systems; top management and departmental involvement in ethics activities; usage of ethics training and other ethics awareness activities; investigatory functions; and evaluation of ethics program activities. Results show a high degree of corporate adoption of ethics policies, but wide variability in the extent to which these policies are implemented by various supporting structures and managerial activities. In effect, the vast majority of firms have committed to the low cost, possibly symbolic side of ethics management (e.g., adoption of ethics codes and policies, etc.). But firms differ substantially in their efforts to see that those policies or codes actually are put into practice.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Beneish, M.D., and R. Chatov. 1993. Corporate codes of conduct: Economic determinants and legal implications for independent auditors. Journal of Accounting and Public Policy 12: 3–35.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Berenbeim, R. 1987. Corporate ethics. New York: The Conference Board.

    Google Scholar 

  • Berenbeim, R. 1992. Corporate ethics practices. New York: The Conference Board.

    Google Scholar 

  • Center for Business Ethics. 1986. Are corporations institutionalizing ethics? Journal of Business Ethics 5: 85–91.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Center for Business Ethics. 1992. Instilling ethical values in large corporations. Journal of Business Ethics 11: 863–867.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chatov, R. 1980. What corporate ethics statements say. California Management Review 22(4): 20–29.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Close, A.C., J. Valerie Steele, and M.E. Buckner. 1994. National directory of corporate public affairs: 1994. Washington, DC: Columbia Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cressey, D.R., and C.A. Moore. 1983. Managerial values and corporate codes of ethics. California Management Review 25(4): 53–77.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dalton, D.R., M.B. Metzger, and J.W. Hill. 1994. The “New” U.S. sentencing commission guidelines: A wake-up call for corporate America. The Academy of Management Executive 8(1): 7–13.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fernandes, M.F., and D.M. Randall. 1992. The nature of social desirability response effects in ethics research. Business Ethics Quarterly 2: 183–206.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hambrick, D.C., M.A. Geletkanycz, and J.W. Fredrickson. 1993. Top executive commitment to the status quo: Some tests of its determinants. Strategic Management Journal 14: 401–418.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kaplan, J.M., J.E. Murphy, and W.M. Swenson. 1993. Compliance programs and the corporate sentencing guideline. Deerfield: Clark Boardman Callaghan.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mathews, M.C. 1988. Strategic intervention in organizations: Resolving ethical dilemmas. Newbury Park: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Paine, L.S. 1994. Managing for organizational integrity. Harvard Business Review 72: 106–117.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pfeffer, J. 1981. Management as symbolic action. Research in Organizational Behavior 3: 1–52.

    Google Scholar 

  • Randall, D.M., and M.F. Fernandes. 1991. The social desirability response bias in ethics research. Journal of Business Ethics 10: 805–817.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sweeney, R.B., and H.L. Siers. 1990. Ethics in corporate America. Management Accounting June, 34–40.

    Google Scholar 

  • Treviño, L.K. 1990. A cultural perspective on changing and developing organizational ethics. Research in Organizational Change and Development 4: 195–230.

    Google Scholar 

  • Weaver, G.R. 1993. Corporate codes of ethics: Purpose, process, and content issues. Business and Society 32(1): 44–58.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Weaver, G.R., L.K. Treviño, and P.L. Cochran. 1995. Environmental and managerial influences on the intensity and integration of corporate ethics programs: An empirical study. Presented at Academy of Management Annual Meeting, Aug 1995.

    Google Scholar 

  • Weaver, G.R., L.K. Treviño, and P.L. Cochran. 1996. Defining and explaining the character of corporate ethics programs, Proceedings of the International Association for Business and Society.

    Google Scholar 

  • White, B.J., and R. Montgomery. 1980. Corporate codes of conduct. California Management Review 23(2): 80–87.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgement

This research was supported by the Ethics in Business Research Fund of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. The authors are grateful for this support.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Business Administration, Alfred Lerner College of Business & Economics University of Delaware, Newark, DE, 19716, USA

    Gary R. Weaver

  2. Department of Management and Organization, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, 16802, USA

    Linda Klebe Treviño

  3. Kelley School of Business Indianapolis, Indiana University, 801 West Michigan Street, Indianapolis, Indiana, 46202, USA

    Philip L. Cochran

Authors
  1. Gary R. Weaver
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Linda Klebe Treviño
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Philip L. Cochran
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Linda Klebe Treviño .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. , Faculty of Arts, Brandon University, 18th Street 270, Brandon, R7A 6A9, Manitoba, Canada

    Alex C. Michalos

  2. Office of the President, Brandon University, 18th Street 270, Brandon, R7A 6A9, Manitoba, Canada

    Deborah C. Poff

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2013 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Weaver, G.R., Treviño, L.K., Cochran, P.L. (2013). Corporate Ethics Practices in the Mid-1990s: An Empirical Study of the Fortune 1000. In: Michalos, A., Poff, D. (eds) Citation Classics from the Journal of Business Ethics. Advances in Business Ethics Research, vol 2. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-4126-3_31

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation