Ethically adrift: How others pull our moral compass from true North, and how we can fix it

Blame the shepherd not the sheep: Imitating higher-ranking transgressors mitigates punishment for unethical behavior

“…Given that injunctions are the core of deontological theories of normative ethics (Kagan, 1998;Kamm, 2007), one might expect injunctive norms to dominate people's evaluations of ethical behavior. However, descriptive norms can have a powerful influence on the perceived permissibility of unethical behavior when they are salient (Cialdini et al, 1990;Gino et al, 2009;Mayer et al, 2013; see also Moore & Gino, 2013). For example, padding an expense report may seem more permissible when evaluated against descriptive norms (e.g., "many people in the company pad their expense reports") rather than against injunctive norms (e.g., "company rules mandate accurate statements of expenses").…”

“…One possibility is that perceptions of descriptive norms are differently malleable across situations. Given that prior research indicates that descriptive norms can have powerful effects on the perceived permissibility of unethical behavior (Cialdini et al, 1990;Gino et al, 2009;Mayer et al, 2013; see also Moore & Gino, 2013), it would be useful to better understand the conditions under which perceived descriptive norms are susceptible to influence.…”

The Contaminating Effects of Building Instrumental Ties: How Networking Can Make Us Feel Dirty

“…As noted by Kunda (1990: 480), the ability of people to reach the conclusions they want to reach "is constrained by their ability to construct seemingly reasonable justifications for these conclusions." As a result, when justifications for one's questionable behavior are available, there is no need to negatively update one's moral selfconcept (Moore and Gino, 2013). But when such self-serving justifications are difficult to generate, one is more likely to recognize the problematic nature of particular types of networking behaviors and experience them as immoral.…”

Stumbling Toward a Social Psychology of Organizations: An Autobiographical Look at the Direction of Organizational Research

“…No doubt there is a stream of research on employee theft that is primarily concerned with the employer's cost of "shrinkage" (e.g., Greenberg 1990). The main thread of organizational research on ethics, however, is what prompts employees (and firms) to lose their moral compass, to commit illegal and/or unethical acts (Moore & Gino 2013). In this regard, it should be noted that many illegal acts may not actually begin as self-centered or selfish attempts to cheat.…”