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  • 2013
  • Article
  • Research in Organizational Behavior

Ethically Adrift: How Others Pull Our Moral Compass from True North, and How we Can Fix It

By: C. Moore and F. Gino
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Abstract

This chapter is about the social nature of morality. Using the metaphor of the moral compass to describe individuals' inner sense of right and wrong, we offer a framework to help us understand social reasons why our moral compass can come under others' control, leading even good people to cross ethical boundaries. Departing from prior work focusing on the role of individuals' cognitive limitations in explaining unethical behavior, we focus on the socio-psychological processes that function as triggers of moral neglect, moral justification and immoral action, and their impact on moral behavior. In addition, our framework discusses organizational factors that exacerbate the detrimental effects of each trigger. We conclude by discussing implications and recommendations for organizational scholars to take a more integrative approach to developing and evaluating theory about unethical behavior.

Keywords

Motivation and Incentives; Moral Sensibility; Behavior

Citation

Moore, C., and F. Gino. "Ethically Adrift: How Others Pull Our Moral Compass from True North, and How we Can Fix It." Research in Organizational Behavior 33 (2013): 53–77.
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About The Author

Francesca Gino

Negotiation, Organizations & Markets
→More Publications

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More from the Authors
  • FIJI Water: Carbon Negative? (Abridged) By: Michael W. Toffel, George Serafeim, Francesca Gino, Stephanie Van Sice and Tom Quinn
  • When Alterations Are Violations: Moral Outrage and Punishment in Response to (Even Minor) Alterations to Rituals By: Daniel H. Stein, Juliana Schroeder, Nicholas M. Hobson, Francesca Gino and Michael I. Norton
  • Debbie Millman: Designing a Meaningful Life By: Francesca Gino, Frances X. Frei and Anne Morriss
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