NGO Failure: A Theoretical Synthesis

How Moral Goodness Drives Unethical Behavior: Empirical Evidence for the NGO Halo Effect

“…Moreover, the former category has often drawn from the business ethics literature, which, while useful, does not offer explicit consideration of the unique characteristics of NGOs and their broader role in society. While this literature provides practical guidance for NGOs and offers insight on sector-level trends, it does little to explain why unethical behaviors persist in a sector frequently touted as “benevolent” (White, 2010) and “virtuous” (Dolšak & Prakash, 2022), leading to calls for more thorough examination of the “sectoral causes” of unethical behavior (Chapman et al, 2022). Second, while others have pointed to the probable role of NGO culture in promoting unethical behaviors, such as sexual abuse and harassment, and offered policy and management approaches for addressing this challenge (e.g., Bruno-van Vijfeijken, 2019; Lamothe et al, 2022), possible pathways or mechanisms linking organizational and sectoral culture to (un)ethical behaviors have remained largely under-theorized and untested.…”

“…Drawing on qualitative evidence from 34 interviews with people working or volunteering in a range of NGOs across the globe, we explore whether and how the NGO halo effect explains not only instances of unethical behavior by and within NGOs but also individuals’ perceptions of the NGO as ethical. Examining the validity of the NGO halo effect contributes to the growing literature on NGO unethical behavior (e.g., Chapman et al, 2022; Dolšak & Prakash, 2022; Lamothe et al, 2022) and shows whether NGO unethical behavior can be seen as congruent with the positioning of NGOs as moral organizations (Greitemeyer & Sagioglou, 2018). Our research also responds to calls for empirical research to understand how (un)ethical behavior within organizations is promoted (Mitchell et al, 2020; Treviño et al, 2006, 2014).…”