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Influences Upon Organizational Ethical Subclimates: A Replication Study of a Single Firm at Two Points in Time

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  • James Weber
  • Julie E. Seger

Abstract

This research replicates Weber's 1995 study of a large financial services firm that found that ethical subclimates exist within multi-departmental organizations, are influenced by the function of the department and the stakeholders served, and are relatively stable over time. Relying upon theoretical models developed by Thompson (1967) and Victor and Cullen (1998), hypotheses are developed that predict the ethical subclimate decision-making dimensions and type for diverse departments within a large steel manufacturing firm and that these ethical subclimate types will be stable across the two periods of time when the data were collected. Employees were surveyed in 1995 and again in 1999 using Victor and Cullen's Ethical Climate Questionnaire. Response rates of 88 and 94 percent were achieved. Contrary to Weber's findings, our results imply that, in both samples, ethical subclimates may be determined by the strength of an organization's overall ethical climate, rather than the department's function. However, we did find support for Weber's earlier contention that these subclimates are relatively stable. Our results also suggest that differences may exist across industries, that is when comparing a large steel manufacturer, as we did in our study, with a large financial services organization, as Weber did in his 1995 study.

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  • James Weber & Julie E. Seger, 2002. "Influences Upon Organizational Ethical Subclimates: A Replication Study of a Single Firm at Two Points in Time," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 41(1), pages 69-84, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:jbuset:v:41:y:2002:i:1:d:10.1023_a:1021350122677
    DOI: 10.1023/A:1021350122677
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. James Weber, 1995. "Influences Upon Organizational Ethical Subclimates: A Multi-Departmental Analysis of a Single Firm," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 6(5), pages 509-523, October.
    2. Treviño, Linda Klebe & Butterfield, Kenneth D. & McCabe, Donald L., 1998. "The Ethical Context in Organizations: Influences on Employee Attitudes and Behaviors," Business Ethics Quarterly, Cambridge University Press, vol. 8(3), pages 447-476, July.
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    Cited by:

    1. James Weber & Virginia Gerde, 2011. "Organizational Role and Environmental Uncertainty as Influences on Ethical Work Climate in Military Units," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 100(4), pages 595-612, June.
    2. M. Fernanda Wagstaff & Gabriela L. Flores & Albert Cannella & Sayan Sarkar & Christine Choirat, 2021. "Construct Validity of Unobtrusive Measures of Organizational Ethical Climates," Corporate Reputation Review, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 24(3), pages 158-177, August.
    3. Weihui Fu & Satish Deshpande, 2012. "Factors Impacting Ethical Behavior in a Chinese State-Owned Steel Company," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 105(2), pages 231-237, January.
    4. Adenekan Dedeke, 2015. "A Cognitive–Intuitionist Model of Moral Judgment," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 126(3), pages 437-457, February.
    5. Jana L. Craft, 2018. "Common Thread: The Impact of Mission on Ethical Business Culture. A Case Study," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 149(1), pages 127-145, April.
    6. Aytac Gokmen & A. Turan Ozturk, 2012. "Issues of Business Ethics in Domestic and International Businesses: A Critical Study," International Journal of Business Administration, International Journal of Business Administration, Sciedu Press, vol. 3(5), pages 82-88, September.
    7. Martin C. Schleper & Constantin Blome & David A. Wuttke, 2017. "The Dark Side of Buyer Power: Supplier Exploitation and the Role of Ethical Climates," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 140(1), pages 97-114, January.

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