RT Article
T1 Ethical Distance in Corrupt Firms: How Do Innocent Bystanders Become Guilty Perpetrators?
JF Journal of business ethics
VO 78
IS 1
SP 265
OP 274
A1 Zyglidopoulos, Stelios C.
A1 Fleming, Peter J.
A2 Fleming, Peter J.
LA English
YR 2008
UL https://ixtheo.de/Record/1785629441
AB This paper develops the concept of the ‘continuum of destructiveness’ in relation to organizational corruption. This notion captures the slippery slope of wrongdoing as actors engage in increasingly dubious practices. We identify four kinds of individuals along this continuum in corrupt organizations, who range from complete innocence to total guilt. They are innocent bystanders, innocent participants, active rationalizers and guilty perpetrators. Traditional explanations of how individuals move from bystander status to guilty perpetrators usually focus on socialization and institutional factors. In addition to these factors, we propose that the very distance between an act and its ethical consequences (ethical distance) may also play a determining role – if not always in the same way – in the transition process. Having developed this conceptual argument, we conclude with a discussion of managerial and research implications.
K1 Business Ethics
K1 Rationalization
K1 ethical distance
K1 Corruption
K1 Bystander
DO 10.1007/s10551-007-9378-4