Competition and Sensemaking in Ethical Situations

Journal of Applied Social Psychology
Jay J CaughronMichael D Mumford

Abstract

Intra-organizational competition was examined in relation to ethicality. The effect of a competitor being an in-group versus and out-group member, competitor offering uncorroborated or corroborated information, and the impact of the competitor expressing selfish, pro-group, or pro-organizational level goals were examined. Findings suggest that the way competition is presented has an important influence on how well individuals are able to make sense of an ethically ambiguous situation and render an ethical decision. A main effect for information sharing was found, such that when a competitor offers uncorroborated information participants made less ethical decisions and used pro-ethical reasoning strategies less often. An additional main effect was found suggesting that participants made more ethical decisions when working with an in-group competitor rather than an out-group competitor. Complex interactive effects were also found and discussed suggesting that pro-ethical reasoning strategies may be used less often depending on information corroboration, the competitor's relative group membership status, and the motives expressed by the competitor.

References

May 1, 1990·Journal of Personality and Social Psychology·J B Ruscher, S T Fiske
Nov 1, 2000·Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes·I Yaniv, E Kleinberger
Jan 6, 2006·Journal of Personality and Social Psychology·Peter R Darke, Shelly Chaiken
Jun 24, 2008·Science and Engineering Ethics·Meagan E BrockMichael D Mumford
Dec 1, 2007·Journal of Empirical Research on Human Research Ethics : JERHRE·Alison L AntesLynn D Devenport
Sep 15, 2009·Ethics & Behavior·Michael D MumfordEthan P Waples

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Citations

Jul 15, 2015·Science and Engineering Ethics·Logan M SteeleT H Lee Williams
Mar 24, 2018·Risk Analysis : an Official Publication of the Society for Risk Analysis·Femke Hilverda, Margôt Kuttschreuter

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