January–March 2020
Article
Organizational Dynamics

Inaction and Decision Making in Moral Conflicts

By: Netta Barak-Corren and Max Bazerman

Format:Print

Abstract

People regularly face conflicts in which obeying one moral requirement means transgressing another. Moral conflicts require difficult decisions: a person believes she should take both actions, but doing both is impossible. In this paper, we examine a common form of decision-making for those facing moral conflicts: inaction. Instead of taking any action, people too often respond with procrastination, indecision, avoidance, and evasion.

Keywords

Moral Conflicts; Moral Sensibility; Decision Making; Behavior

Citation

Barak-Corren, Netta, and Max Bazerman. "Inaction and Decision Making in Moral Conflicts." Art. 100703. Special Issue on 21st Century Decision Making. Organizational Dynamics 49, no. 1 (January–March 2020).