WhyDoGoodPeopleDoBadThingsin.PDF

See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: /publication/271839957 Why Do Good People Do Bad Things in Business? Lessons from Research for Responsible Business Managers Chapter January 2015 DOI: 10.4018/978-1-4666-7419-6.ch001 CITATIONS READS 0 1,679 1 author: Harvey S. James University of Missouri 126 PUBLICATIONS 1,508 CITATIONS SEE PROFILE All content following this page was uploaded by Harvey S. James on 05 February 2015. The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file. All in-text references underlined in blue are added to the original document and are linked to publications on ResearchGate, letting you access and read them immediately. Why Do Good People Do Bad Things in Business? Lessons from Research for Responsible Business Managers Harvey S. James, Jr. Department of Agricultural Applied Economics, University of Missouri, USA In T. Issa and R. Wolf (Eds.), International Business Ethics and Growth Opportunities. Hershey, PA: IGI Global. ABSTRACT Promoting ethical behavior in business requires an understanding of why and when seemingly good people do unethical things. Research on this issue consists of theoretical models of moral decision-making and empirical studies of ethical sensitivity, attitudes and behaviors of people in various contexts. These studies reveal that explanations of unethical conduct include considerations of a person’s psychological disposition as well as the circumstances in which they live. They also identify general principles that explain why individuals might engage in unethical conduct. This chapter reviews studies conducted over the past 50 years and articulates lessons that can help business managers improve the ethical climate of business and ethical behavio