IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/wly/buseth/v30y2021i4p801-817.html

Virtue and virtuousness in organizations: Guidelines for ascribing individual and organizational moral responsibility

Author

Listed:
  • Mihaela Constantinescu
  • Muel Kaptein

Abstract

This article advances research on moral responsibility in organizations by drawing on both philosophical virtue ethics grounded in the Aristotelian tradition and Positive Organizational Scholarship research concerned with virtuousness. The article discusses the very conditions that make possible the realization of virtues and virtuousness, respectively. These conditions ground notions of moral responsibility and the resulting praise or blame on organizational contexts. Thus, we analyze the way individuals and organizations may be ascribed interconnected degrees of retrospective moral responsibility and blame as depending on the interplay between the individual conditions leading to virtue and the organizational conditions leading to virtuousness. Based on this analysis, we develop a two‐level account of moral responsibility in organizations that connects individual and organizational moral responsibility through the concepts of virtue and virtuousness. This is further operationalized into practical guidelines to ascribe degrees of individual and organizational blame, which can be used as a tool by managers, policymakers, or industry regulators.

Suggested Citation

  • Mihaela Constantinescu & Muel Kaptein, 2021. "Virtue and virtuousness in organizations: Guidelines for ascribing individual and organizational moral responsibility," Business Ethics, the Environment & Responsibility, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 30(4), pages 801-817, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:buseth:v:30:y:2021:i:4:p:801-817
    DOI: 10.1111/beer.12373
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/beer.12373
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/beer.12373?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
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Kaptein, Muel & Wempe, Johan, 2002. "The Balanced Company: A Theory of Corporate Integrity," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780199255511.
    2. Moore, Geoff, 2005. "Corporate Character: Modern Virtue Ethics and the Virtuous Corporation," Business Ethics Quarterly, Cambridge University Press, vol. 15(4), pages 659-685, October.
    3. John Hasnas, 2012. "Reflections on Corporate Moral Responsibility and the Problem Solving Technique of Alexander the Great," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 107(2), pages 183-195, May.
    4. Mario Fernando & Ruwan Bandara, 2020. "Towards virtuous and ethical organisational performance in the context of corruption: A case study in the public sector," Public Administration & Development, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 40(3), pages 196-204, August.
    5. Marcel Meyer, 2018. "The Evolution and Challenges of the Concept of Organizational Virtuousness in Positive Organizational Scholarship," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 153(1), pages 245-264, November.
    6. Alzola, Miguel, 2015. "Virtuous Persons and Virtuous Actions in Business Ethics and Organizational Research," Business Ethics Quarterly, Cambridge University Press, vol. 25(3), pages 287-318, July.
    7. Sison, Alejo José G. & Fontrodona, Joan, 2012. "The Common Good of the Firm in the Aristotelian-Thomistic Tradition," Business Ethics Quarterly, Cambridge University Press, vol. 22(2), pages 211-246, April.
    8. Dempsey, James, 2015. "Moral Responsibility, Shared Values, and Corporate Culture," Business Ethics Quarterly, Cambridge University Press, vol. 25(3), pages 319-340, July.
    9. Alzola, Miguel, 2012. "The Possibility of Virtue," Business Ethics Quarterly, Cambridge University Press, vol. 22(2), pages 377-404, April.
    10. Mihaela Constantinescu & Muel Kaptein, 2015. "Mutually Enhancing Responsibility: A Theoretical Exploration of the Interaction Mechanisms Between Individual and Corporate Moral Responsibility," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 129(2), pages 325-339, June.
    11. Arménio Rego & Neuza Ribeiro & Miguel Cunha, 2010. "Perceptions of Organizational Virtuousness and Happiness as Predictors of Organizational Citizenship Behaviors," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 93(2), pages 215-235, May.
    12. Kevin T. Jackson, 2018. "Interpreting the Virtues of Mindfulness and Compassion: Contemplative Practices and Virtue-Oriented Business Ethics," Humanistic Management Journal, Springer, vol. 3(1), pages 47-69, July.
    13. Leslie Sekerka & Debra Comer & Lindsey Godwin, 2014. "Positive Organizational Ethics: Cultivating and Sustaining Moral Performance," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 119(4), pages 435-444, February.
    14. Maiju Kangas & Joona Muotka & Mari Huhtala & Anne Mäkikangas & Taru Feldt, 2017. "Is the Ethical Culture of the Organization Associated with Sickness Absence? A Multilevel Analysis in a Public Sector Organization," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 140(1), pages 131-145, January.
    15. Solomon, Robert C., 1992. "Corporate Roles, Personal Virtues: An Aristotelean Approach to Business Ethics," Business Ethics Quarterly, Cambridge University Press, vol. 2(3), pages 317-339, July.
    16. Andreas Georg Scherer & Andreas Rasche & Guido Palazzo & André Spicer, 2016. "Managing for Political Corporate Social Responsibility: New Challenges and Directions for PCSR 2.0," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 53(3), pages 273-298, May.
    17. Surendra Arjoon & Alvaro Turriago-Hoyos & Ulf Thoene, 2018. "Virtuousness and the Common Good as a Conceptual Framework for Harmonizing the Goals of the Individual, Organizations, and the Economy," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 147(1), pages 143-163, January.
    18. David Bright & Bradley Winn & Jason Kanov, 2014. "Reconsidering Virtue: Differences of Perspective in Virtue Ethics and the Positive Social Sciences," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 119(4), pages 445-460, February.
    19. Maiju Kangas & Taru Feldt & Mari Huhtala & Johanna Rantanen, 2014. "The Corporate Ethical Virtues Scale: Factorial Invariance Across Organizational Samples," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 124(1), pages 161-171, September.
    20. Velasquez, Manuel, 2003. "Debunking Corporate Moral Responsibility," Business Ethics Quarterly, Cambridge University Press, vol. 13(4), pages 531-562, October.
    21. John Bruhn, 2009. "The Functionality of Gray Area Ethics in Organizations," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 89(2), pages 205-214, October.
    22. Pursey P. M. A. R. Heugens & Muel Kaptein & J. (Hans) van Oosterhout, 2008. "Contracts to Communities: A Processual Model of Organizational Virtue," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 45(1), pages 100-121, January.
    23. Sison, Alejo José G. & Hartman, Edwin M. & Fontrodona, Joan, 2012. "Guest Editors’ Introduction Reviving Tradition: Virtue and the Common Good in Business and Management," Business Ethics Quarterly, Cambridge University Press, vol. 22(2), pages 207-210, April.
    24. Kevin Morrell & Stephen Brammer, 2016. "Governance and Virtue: The Case of Public Order Policing," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 136(2), pages 385-398, June.
    25. Martha C. Nussbaum, 2008. "Who Is the Happy Warrior? Philosophy Poses Questions to Psychology," The Journal of Legal Studies, University of Chicago Press, vol. 37(S2), pages 81-113, June.
    26. Phillips, Michael J., 1995. "Corporate Moral Responsibility: When it Might Matter," Business Ethics Quarterly, Cambridge University Press, vol. 5(3), pages 555-576, July.
    27. Niki A. Nieuwenboer & Muel Kaptein, 2008. "Spiraling Down into Corruption: A Dynamic Analysis of the Social Identity Processes that Cause Corruption in Organizations to Grow," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 83(2), pages 133-146, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Richa Goyal & Himani Sharma & Aarti Sharma, 2024. "A thorough examination of organizations from an ethical viewpoint: A bibliometric and content analysis of organizational virtuousness studies," Business Ethics, the Environment & Responsibility, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 33(1), pages 129-144, January.
    2. Shaji Joseph & Anil Jadhav & Saikat Gochhait & Ayodeji Olalekan Salau, 2025. "Exploring the influence of ethical leadership and culture on employee job satisfaction: the moderating effects of age, gender, tenure, and organizational age," Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 12(1), pages 1-16, December.

    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. Surendra Arjoon & Alvaro Turriago-Hoyos & Ulf Thoene, 2018. "Virtuousness and the Common Good as a Conceptual Framework for Harmonizing the Goals of the Individual, Organizations, and the Economy," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 147(1), pages 143-163, January.
    2. Richa Goyal & Himani Sharma & Aarti Sharma, 2024. "A thorough examination of organizations from an ethical viewpoint: A bibliometric and content analysis of organizational virtuousness studies," Business Ethics, the Environment & Responsibility, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 33(1), pages 129-144, January.
    3. Marcel Meyer, 2018. "The Evolution and Challenges of the Concept of Organizational Virtuousness in Positive Organizational Scholarship," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 153(1), pages 245-264, November.
    4. Kevin T. Jackson, 2018. "Interpreting the Virtues of Mindfulness and Compassion: Contemplative Practices and Virtue-Oriented Business Ethics," Humanistic Management Journal, Springer, vol. 3(1), pages 47-69, July.
    5. David Dawson, 2018. "Organisational Virtue, Moral Attentiveness, and the Perceived Role of Ethics and Social Responsibility in Business: The Case of UK HR Practitioners," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 148(4), pages 765-781, April.
    6. Germán Scalzo & Kleio Akrivou & Manuel Joaquín Fernández González, 2023. "A personalist approach to business ethics: New perspectives for virtue ethics and servant leadership," Business Ethics, the Environment & Responsibility, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 32(S2), pages 145-158, September.
    7. Sandrine Frémeaux, 2020. "A Common Good Perspective on Diversity," Post-Print hal-03232779, HAL.
    8. Irene Tsachouridi & Irene Nikandrou, 2020. "The Role of Prosocial Motives and Social Exchange in Mediating the Relationship Between Organizational Virtuousness’ Perceptions and Employee Outcomes," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 166(3), pages 535-551, October.
    9. Tina Sendlhofer, 2020. "Decoupling from Moral Responsibility for CSR: Employees' Visionary Procrastination at a SME," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 167(2), pages 361-378, November.
    10. Michael S. McLeod & G. Tyge Payne & Robert E. Evert, 2016. "Organizational Ethics Research: A Systematic Review of Methods and Analytical Techniques," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 134(3), pages 429-443, March.
    11. Helen Nicholson & Ron Beadle & Richard Slack, 2020. "Corporate Philanthropy as a Context for Moral Agency, a MacIntyrean Enquiry," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 167(3), pages 589-603, December.
    12. Marina Balboa & Germán López-Espinosa & Antonio Rubia, 2012. "Non-linear Dynamics in Discretionary Accruals: An Analysis of Bank Loan-Loss Provisions," Faculty Working Papers 07/12, School of Economics and Business Administration, University of Navarra.
    13. Mihaela Constantinescu & Muel Kaptein, 2015. "Mutually Enhancing Responsibility: A Theoretical Exploration of the Interaction Mechanisms Between Individual and Corporate Moral Responsibility," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 129(2), pages 325-339, June.
    14. Silvana Signori & Helen Alford, 2025. "Can Shareholder Activism be aVirtuous Practice?," Humanistic Management Journal, Springer, vol. 10(3), pages 479-501, December.
    15. Juliana Toro-Arias & Pablo Ruiz-Palomino & María Pilar Rodríguez-Córdoba, 2022. "Measuring Ethical Organizational Culture: Validation of the Spanish Version of the Shortened Corporate Ethical Virtues Model," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 176(3), pages 551-574, March.
    16. Caleb Bernacchio, 2021. "Virtue Beyond Contract: A MacIntyrean Approach to Employee Rights," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 171(2), pages 227-240, June.
    17. Karol Marek Klimczak & Alejo José G. Sison & Maria Prats & Maximilian B. Torres, 2022. "How to Deter Financial Misconduct if Crime Pays?," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 179(1), pages 205-222, August.
    18. Kevin Morrell & Stephen Brammer, 2016. "Governance and Virtue: The Case of Public Order Policing," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 136(2), pages 385-398, June.
    19. Joan Fontrodona & Doménec Melé, 2025. "Ethics in Turbulent Times: Rationality and Virtues in Decision Making," Humanistic Management Journal, Springer, vol. 10(3), pages 345-360, December.
    20. Sandrine Frémeaux & Anouk Grevin & Roberta Sferrazzo, 2023. "Developing a Culture of Solidarity Through a Three-Step Virtuous Process: Lessons from Common Good-Oriented Organizations," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 188(1), pages 89-105, November.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    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:wly:buseth:v:30:y:2021:i:4:p:801-817. 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: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/26946424 .

    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.