Abstract
This paper reports on a study of large U.S. based corporations concerning the status of formal ethics statements. Almost all responding firms (91%) have promulgated a formal code of ethics while one-half have published values statements and about one-third have a corporate credo. Analysis of these statements concentrated on to whom they are communicated; whether codes of ethics contain information pertinent to the industry, include sanctions for violations and provide specific guidance regarding gifts. Conclusions and implications for managers and researchers are drawn.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Arrow, K. J.: 1973, ‘Social Responsibility and Economic Efficiency’,Public Policy 21, 303–317.
Austin, R. W.: 1961, ‘Code of Conduct for Executives’,Harvard Business Review (Sept.–Oct.), 53–61.
Barrett, T.: 1988, ‘Business Ethics for Sale’,Newsweek (May 9), 56.
Bennett, A.: 1988, ‘Ethics Codes Spread Despite Skepticism’,The Wall Street Journal (July 15), 13.
Benson, G. C. S.: 1989, ‘Codes of Ethics’,Journal of Business Ethics (May), 317–318.
Berenbeim, R. E.: 1987,Corporate Ethics, New York: The Conference Board, Report No. 900.
Berenbeim, R. E.: 1992,Corporate Ethics Practices, New York: The Conference Board, Report No. 986.
Brenner, S. N. and E. A. Molander: 1977, ‘Is the Ethics of Business Executives Changing?’,Harvard Business Review 55 (Jan.–Feb.), 57–71.
Business Roundtable: 1988,Corporate Ethics: A Prime Business Asset, New York.
Center for Business Ethics: 1986, ‘Are Corporations Institutionalizing Ethics?’Journal of Business Ethics 5, 85–91.
Center for Business Ethics: 1992, ‘Instilling Ethical Values in Large Corporations’,Journal of Business Ethics 11 (Nov.), 863–868.
Cressey, D. R. and C. A. Moore: 1983, ‘Managerial Values and Corporate Codes of Ethics’,California Management Review 25 (Summer), 53–77.
Edmonson, W. F.: 1990,A Code of Ethics: Do Corporate Executives And Employees Need It? (Itawamba Community College Press, Fulton, MS).
Ethics Resource Center: 1979,Codes of Ethics in Corporations and Trade Associations and the Teaching of Ethics in Graduate Business Schools (Opinion Research Corporation, Princeton, NJ).
Ethics Resource Center: 1990,Creating a Workable Company Code of Ethics.
Fulmer, R. M.: 1969, ‘Ethical Codes for Business’,Personnel Administration (May–June), 49–57.
Harris, C. E.: 1978, ‘Structuring A Workable Business Code of Ethics’,University of Florida Law Review 30, 310–382.
Hite, R. E., J. A. Bellizzi and C. Fraser: 1988, ‘A Content Analysis of Ethical Policy Statements Regarding Marketing Activities’,Journal of Business Ethics 7 (Oct.), 771–776.
Hyman, M. R., R. Skipper and R. Tansey: 1990, ‘Ethical Codes are Not Enough’,Business Horizons (March/April), 15–22.
Laczniak, G. R. and P. E. Murphy: 1993,Ethical Marketing Decisions: The Higher Road (Allyn & Bacon, Boston).
Leigh, J. H. and P. E. Murphy: 1993, ‘The Role of Formal Policies and Informal Culture on Ethical Decision Making by Marketing Managers’, Working paper, Texas A & M University.
McCoy, C. S. and F. N. Twining: 1988, ‘The Corporate Values Program at Champion International’, inCorporate Ethics: A Prime Business Asset (The Conference Board, New York), pp. 21–30.
Molander, E. A.: 1987, ‘A Paradigm for Design, Promulgation and Enforcement of Ethical Codes’,Journal of Business Ethics 6 (Nov.), 619–632.
Murphy, P. E.: 1988, ‘Implementing Business Ethics’,Journal of Business Ethics 7 (Dec.), 907–916.
Murphy, P. E.: 1989, ‘Creating Ethical Corporate Structures’,Sloan Management Review 30 (Winter), 61–67.
O'Boyle, E. J. and L. E. Dawson, Jr.: 1992, ‘The American Marketing Association Code of Ethics: Instructions for Marketers’,Journal of Business Ethics 11 (Dec.), 921–930.
Oliverio, M. E.: 1989, ‘The Implementation of a Code of Ethics: The Early Effort of One Entrepreneur’,Journal of Business Ethics 8, 367–374.
Robertson, D. C. and B. B. Schlegelmilch: 1993, ‘Corporate Institutionalization of Ethics in the United States and Great Britain’,Journal of Business Ethics 12 (April), 301–312.
Robin, D., M. Giallourakis, F. R. David, and T. E. Moritz: 1989, ‘A Different Look at Codes of Ethics’,Business Horizons (Jan.–Feb.), 66–73.
Stone, C.: 1975,Where the Law Ends (Harper & Row: New York), pp. 88–110.
Tsalikis, J. and D. J. Fritzsche: 1989, ‘Business Ethics: A Literature Review with a Focus on Marketing Ethics’,Journal of Business Ethics 8, 695–743.
Touche R.: 1988,Ethics in American Business, New York, January.
Weller, S.: 1988, ‘The Effectiveness of Corporate Codes of Ethics’,Journal of Business Ethics 7 (May), 389–396.
White, B. J. and B. R. Montgomery: 1980, ‘Corporate Codes of Conduct’,California Management Review (Winter), 80–87.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
Patrick E. Murphy is Professor and Chairman of the Department of Marketing at the University of Notre Dame. He is coauthor (with G. R. Laczniak) ofEthical Marketing Decisions: The Higher Road, Allyn & Bacon, 1993. His research interests focus on ethical and public policy issues facing marketing and business. He serves on the editorial review boards of several marketing and ethics journals.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Murphy, P.E. Corporate ethics statements: Current status and future prospects. J Bus Ethics 14, 727–740 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00872326
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00872326