IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/kap/jbuset/v180y2022i2d10.1007_s10551-021-04774-8.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Ethical Decision-Making in Family Firms: The Role of Employee Identification

Author

Listed:
  • Friederike Sophie Reck

    (RWTH Aachen University)

  • Denise Fischer

    (RWTH Aachen University)

  • Malte Brettel

    (RWTH Aachen University)

Abstract

The ethical behavior prevalent in an organization often determines business success or failure. Much research in the business context has scrutinized ethical behavior, but there are still few insights into its roots; this study furthers this line of inquiry. In line with identity work theory, we examine how employees’ identification with a family business shapes internal ethical decision-making processes. Because it is individuals who engage in decision-making—be it ethical or not—our research perspective centers on the individual level. We followed an inductive, qualitative approach and conducted interviews with 19 employees in seven family businesses. We found that individuals engage in identity work when they identify as individual family firm employees and when they identify with the perceived characteristics of the family firm. These processes of identification, in turn, influence how employees cope with ethical situations. Our findings contribute to ethics and family business research, as well as to identity theory.

Suggested Citation

  • Friederike Sophie Reck & Denise Fischer & Malte Brettel, 2022. "Ethical Decision-Making in Family Firms: The Role of Employee Identification," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 180(2), pages 651-673, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:jbuset:v:180:y:2022:i:2:d:10.1007_s10551-021-04774-8
    DOI: 10.1007/s10551-021-04774-8
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10551-021-04774-8
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s10551-021-04774-8?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. De Cremer, David & Mayer, David M. & Schminke, Marshall, 2010. "Guest Editors’ Introduction: On Understanding Ethical Behavior and Decision Making: A Behavioral Ethics Approach," Business Ethics Quarterly, Cambridge University Press, vol. 20(1), pages 1-6, January.
    2. Dennis A. Gioia & Kumar Chittipeddi, 1991. "Sensemaking and sensegiving in strategic change initiation," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 12(6), pages 433-448, September.
    3. Remedios Hernández-Linares & Soumodip Sarkar & Manuel J. Cobo, 2018. "Inspecting the Achilles heel: a quantitative analysis of 50 years of family business definitions," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 115(2), pages 929-951, May.
    4. Joseph H. Astrachan & Claudia Binz Astrachan & Giovanna Campopiano & Massimo Baù, 2020. "Values, Spirituality and Religion: Family Business and the Roots of Sustainable Ethical Behavior," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 163(4), pages 637-645, May.
    5. Jana Craft, 2013. "A Review of the Empirical Ethical Decision-Making Literature: 2004–2011," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 117(2), pages 221-259, October.
    6. Long, Rebecca G. & Mathews, K. Michael, 2011. "Ethics in the Family Firm: Cohesion through Reciprocity and Exchange," Business Ethics Quarterly, Cambridge University Press, vol. 21(2), pages 287-308, April.
    7. Sharma, Pramodita & Sharma, Sanjay, 2011. "Drivers of Proactive Environmental Strategy in Family Firms," Business Ethics Quarterly, Cambridge University Press, vol. 21(2), pages 309-334, April.
    8. Zellweger, Thomas M. & Eddleston, Kimberly A. & Kellermanns, Franz W., 2010. "Exploring the concept of familiness: Introducing family firm identity," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 1(1), pages 54-63, March.
    9. Mark Blodgett & Colette Dumas & Alberto Zanzi, 2011. "Emerging Trends in Global Ethics: A Comparative Study of U.S. and International Family Business Values," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 99(1), pages 29-38, February.
    10. Saim Kashmiri & Vijay Mahajan, 2014. "A Rose by Any Other Name: Are Family Firms Named After Their Founding Families Rewarded More for Their New Product Introductions?," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 124(1), pages 81-99, September.
    11. Dheeraj Sharma, 2018. "When Fairness is Not Enough: Impact of Corporate Ethical Values on Organizational Citizenship Behaviors and Worker Alienation," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 150(1), pages 57-68, June.
    12. Fletcher, Denise & Massis, Alfredo De & Nordqvist, Mattias, 2016. "Qualitative research practices and family business scholarship: A review and future research agenda," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 7(1), pages 8-25.
    13. Colli, Andrea & Pérez, Paloma Fernández & Rose, Mary B., 2003. "National Determinants of Family Firm Development? Family Firms in Britain, Spain, and Italy in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries," Enterprise & Society, Cambridge University Press, vol. 4(1), pages 28-64, March.
    14. Dubinsky, Alan J. & Loken, Barbara, 1989. "Analyzing ethical decision making in marketing," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 19(2), pages 83-107, September.
    15. McFerran, Brent & Aquino, Karl & Duffy, Michelle, 2010. "How Personality and Moral Identity Relate to Individuals’ Ethical Ideology," Business Ethics Quarterly, Cambridge University Press, vol. 20(1), pages 35-56, January.
    16. Navneet Bhatnagar & Pramodita Sharma & Kavil Ramachandran, 2020. "Spirituality and Corporate Philanthropy in Indian Family Firms: An Exploratory Study," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 163(4), pages 715-728, May.
    17. Marleen Dieleman & Juliette Koning, 2020. "Articulating Values Through Identity Work: Advancing Family Business Ethics Research," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 163(4), pages 675-687, May.
    18. Mustafa Kavas & Paula Jarzabkowski & Amit Nigam, 2020. "Islamic Family Business: The Constitutive Role of Religion in Business," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 163(4), pages 689-700, May.
    19. Nick Lin-Hi & Igor Blumberg, 2018. "The Link Between (Not) Practicing CSR and Corporate Reputation: Psychological Foundations and Managerial Implications," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 150(1), pages 185-198, June.
    20. Ronald C. Anderson & David M. Reeb, 2003. "Founding-Family Ownership and Firm Performance: Evidence from the S&P 500," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 58(3), pages 1301-1327, June.
    21. Francesco Barbera & Henry X. Shi & Ankit Agarwal & Mark Edwards, 2020. "The Family That Prays Together Stays Together: Toward a Process Model of Religious Value Transmission in Family Firms," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 163(4), pages 661-673, May.
    22. Chamu Sundaramurthy & Glen E. Kreiner, 2008. "Governing by Managing Identity Boundaries: The Case of Family Businesses," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 32(3), pages 415-436, May.
    23. O. C. Ferrell & Victoria L. Crittenden & Linda Ferrell & William F. Crittenden, 2013. "Theoretical development in ethical marketing decision making," AMS Review, Springer;Academy of Marketing Science, vol. 3(2), pages 51-60, June.
    24. McGuire, Jean & Dow, Sandra & Ibrahim, Bakr, 2012. "All in the family? Social performance and corporate governance in the family firm," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 65(11), pages 1643-1650.
    25. Ramzi Fathallah & Yusuf Sidani & Sandra Khalil, 2020. "How Religion Shapes Family Business Ethical Behaviors: An Institutional Logics Perspective," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 163(4), pages 647-659, May.
    26. Mike W. Peng & Wei Sun & Cristina Vlas & Alessandro Minichilli & Guido Corbetta, 2018. "An Institution-Based View of Large Family Firms: A Recap and Overview," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 42(2), pages 187-205, March.
    27. De Massis, Alfredo & Kotlar, Josip, 2014. "The case study method in family business research: Guidelines for qualitative scholarship," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 5(1), pages 15-29.
    28. Gopal Krishnan & Marietta Peytcheva, 2019. "The Risk of Fraud in Family Firms: Assessments of External Auditors," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 157(1), pages 261-278, June.
    29. Franco Ernesto Rubino & Paolo Tenuta & Domenico Rocco Cambrea, 2017. "Board characteristics effects on performance in family and non-family business: a multi-theoretical approach," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 21(3), pages 623-658, September.
    30. Madelijne Gorsira & Adriaan Denkers & Wim Huisman, 2018. "Both Sides of the Coin: Motives for Corruption Among Public Officials and Business Employees," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 151(1), pages 179-194, August.
    31. Ronald C. Anderson & David M. Reeb, 2003. "Founding‐Family Ownership and Firm Performance: Evidence from the S&P 500," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 58(3), pages 1301-1328, June.
    32. W. Gibb Dyer Jr. & David A. Whetten, 2006. "Family Firms and Social Responsibility: Preliminary Evidence from the S&P 500," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 30(6), pages 785-802, November.
    33. Lubinski, Christina, 2011. "Path Dependency and Governance in German Family Firms," Business History Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 85(4), pages 699-724, January.
    34. Mojca Duh & Jernej Belak & Borut Milfelner, 2010. "Core Values, Culture and Ethical Climate as Constitutional Elements of Ethical Behaviour: Exploring Differences Between Family and Non-Family Enterprises," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 97(3), pages 473-489, December.
    35. Jatinder Singh & Oriol Iglesias & Joan Batista-Foguet, 2012. "Does Having an Ethical Brand Matter? The Influence of Consumer Perceived Ethicality on Trust, Affect and Loyalty," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 111(4), pages 541-549, December.
    36. Rachel Fichter, 2018. "Do the Right Thing! Developing Ethical Behavior in Financial Institutions," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 151(1), pages 69-84, August.
    37. Mark S. Schwartz, 2016. "Ethical Decision-Making Theory: An Integrated Approach," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 139(4), pages 755-776, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Gopal Krishnan & Marietta Peytcheva, 2019. "The Risk of Fraud in Family Firms: Assessments of External Auditors," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 157(1), pages 261-278, June.
    2. Martina Sageder & Christine Mitter & Birgit Feldbauer‐Durstmüller, 2018. "Image and reputation of family firms: a systematic literature review of the state of research," Review of Managerial Science, Springer, vol. 12(1), pages 335-377, January.
    3. Bargoni, Augusto & Alon, Ilan & Ferraris, Alberto, 2023. "A systematic review of family business and consumer behaviour," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 158(C).
    4. Christoph Stock & Laura Pütz & Sabrina Schell & Arndt Werner, 2024. "Corporate Social Responsibility in Family Firms: Status and Future Directions of a Research Field," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 190(1), pages 199-259, February.
    5. Pedro Vazquez, 2018. "Family Business Ethics: At the Crossroads of Business Ethics and Family Business," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 150(3), pages 691-709, July.
    6. Valeria Giacomin & Geoffrey Jones, 2022. "Drivers of Philanthropic Foundations in Emerging Markets: Family, Values and Spirituality," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 180(1), pages 263-282, September.
    7. Joseph H. Astrachan & Claudia Binz Astrachan & Giovanna Campopiano & Massimo Baù, 2020. "Values, Spirituality and Religion: Family Business and the Roots of Sustainable Ethical Behavior," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 163(4), pages 637-645, May.
    8. Mª de la Cruz Déniz-Déniz & Mª Katiuska Cabrera-Suárez & Josefa D. Martín-Santana, 2020. "Orientation Toward Key Non-family Stakeholders and Economic Performance in Family Firms: The Role of Family Identification with the Firm," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 163(2), pages 329-345, May.
    9. Ikseon Suh & Adi Masli & John T. Sweeney, 2021. "Do Management Training Grounds Reduce Internal Auditor Objectivity and External Auditor Reliance? The Influence of Family Firms," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 173(1), pages 205-227, September.
    10. Ritch L. Sorenson & Jackie M. Milbrandt, 2023. "Family Social Capital in Family Business: A Faith-Based Values Theory," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 184(3), pages 701-724, May.
    11. Joern H. Block & Marcus Wagner, 2014. "The Effect of Family Ownership on Different Dimensions of Corporate Social Responsibility: Evidence from Large US Firms," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 23(7), pages 475-492, November.
    12. Ivan Miroshnychenko & Alfredo De Massis & Danny Miller & Roberto Barontini, 2021. "Family Business Growth Around the World," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 45(4), pages 682-708, July.
    13. Rajan, Bharath & Salunkhe, Uday & Kumar, V., 2023. "Understanding customer engagement in family firms: A conceptual framework," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 154(C).
    14. Bąkiewicz Anna & Kasuma Jati & Hermawan Asep, 2022. "Family Business and Religion – Research Agenda," Journal of Intercultural Management, Sciendo, vol. 14(2), pages 4-40, December.
    15. Botero, Isabel C., 2014. "Effects of communicating family ownership and organisational size on an applicant's attraction to a firm: An empirical examination in the USA and China," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 5(2), pages 184-196.
    16. Zellweger, Thomas M. & Kellermanns, Franz W. & Eddleston, Kimberly A. & Memili, Esra, 2012. "Building a family firm image: How family firms capitalize on their family ties," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 3(4), pages 239-250.
    17. Botero, Isabel C. & Thomas, Jill & Graves, Christopher & Fediuk, Tomasz A., 2013. "Understanding multiple family firm identities: An exploration of the communicated identity in official websites," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 4(1), pages 12-21.
    18. Jingyu Gao & Adi Masli & Ikseon Suh & Jingchang Xu, 2021. "The Influence of a Family Business Climate and CEO–CFO Relationship Quality on Misreporting Conduct," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 171(1), pages 99-122, June.
    19. Lee, Soo-Hoon & Phan, Phillip H. & Ding, Hung-bin, 2016. "A theory of family employee involvement during resource paucity," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 7(3), pages 160-166.
    20. Julia VINCENT PONROY & Patrick LÊ & Camille PRADIES, 2019. "In a Family Way? A Model of Family Firm Identity Maintenance by Non-Family Members," Working Papers 2019-015, Department of Research, Ipag Business School.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:kap:jbuset:v:180:y:2022:i:2:d:10.1007_s10551-021-04774-8. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.