The Effects of Proximity and Empathy on Ethical Decision-Making: An Exploratory Investigation

The goals of this research were to (1) explore the direct effects of and interactions between magnitude of consequences and various types of proximity – social, psychological, and physical – on the ethical decision-making process and (2) investigate the influence of empathy on the ethical decision-m...

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Détails bibliographiques
Auteurs: Mencl, Jennifer (Auteur) ; May, Douglas R. (Auteur)
Type de support: Électronique Article
Langue:Anglais
Vérifier la disponibilité: HBZ Gateway
Interlibrary Loan:Interlibrary Loan for the Fachinformationsdienste (Specialized Information Services in Germany)
Publié: 2009
Dans: Journal of business ethics
Année: 2009, Volume: 85, Numéro: 2, Pages: 201-226
Sujets non-standardisés:B magnitude of consequences
B Proximity
B moral evaluations
B Empathy
B ethical decision-making process
B Moral Intensity
Accès en ligne: Volltext (JSTOR)
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Description
Résumé:The goals of this research were to (1) explore the direct effects of and interactions between magnitude of consequences and various types of proximity – social, psychological, and physical – on the ethical decision-making process and (2) investigate the influence of empathy on the ethical decision-making process. A carpal tunnel syndrome vignette and questionnaire were administered to a sample of human resource management professionals to test the hypothesized relationships. Significant relationships were found for the main effects between magnitude of consequences and principle-based evaluation, cognitive empathy and principle-based evaluation, and empathy and moral intention. Physical proximity moderated the relationships between magnitude of consequences and utilitarian evaluation as well as magnitude of consequences and moral intention. Cognitive empathy moderated the relationships between magnitude of consequences and principle-based evaluation and physical proximity and utilitarian evaluation. Affective empathy marginally moderated the relationship between physical proximity and principle-based evaluation. Future research directions, management implications, and strengths and weaknesses of the research are discussed.
ISSN:1573-0697
Contient:Enthalten in: Journal of business ethics
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1007/s10551-008-9765-5