The relationship between religiosity and ethical behavior at work has remained elusive. In fact, inconsistent results in observed magnitudes and direction led Hood et al. (The psychology of religion: An empirical approach, 1996) to describe the relationship between religiosity and ethics as ''something of a roller coaster ride.'' Weaver and Agle (Acad Manage Rev 27(1):77-97, 2002) utilizing social structural versions of symbolic interactionism theory reasoned that we should not expect religion to affect ethical outcomes for all religious individuals; rather, such a relationship likely depends on specific religious attitudes including religious motivation orientation (intrinsic RMO vs. extrinsic RMO), perceived sacred qualities of work (job sanctification), and views of God (VOG, loving vs. punishing). We examined the effects of these three religious attitudes on participants' judgments of 29 ethically questionable vignettes. Consistent with symbolic interactionism theory, intrinsic RMO and having a loving view of God were both negatively related to endorsing ethically questionable vignettes, whereas extrinsic RMO was positively related to endorsing the vignettes. Unexpectedly, job sanctification was positively related to endorsing the vignettes. However, both intrinsic and extrinsic RMO moderated this relationship such that sanctifying one's job was related to ethical judgments only for those who were: (a) low in intrinsic RMO or (b) high in extrinsic RMO. We reasoned based on symbolic interactionism theory that intrinsically motivated participants, in contrast to extrinsically motivated participants, may have utilized their religious beliefs as a guiding framework in making ethical judgments.

An important element in discussions of organizational ethicality is the diagnosis of organizational culture. Kaptein developed the Corporate Ethical Virtues Model Scale (CEVMS) to facilitate this task. We build on this work by developing a short form of Kaptein's scale, the CEVMS-Short Form (CEVMS-SF). In a series of studies, using three independent samples, we (a) developed the CEVMS-SF (Study 1, n = 274), (b) tested the psychometric properties of the short form (Study 2, n = 417), and (c) found validity evidence (Study 3, n = 204) for the measure. The primary implication of this research is that the CEVMS-SF can be combined with existing scales allowing diagnosticians to conduct more comprehensive diagnoses by including ethical culture. We also explain how the CEVMS-SF is applicable in the action research process when conducting a diagnosis or evaluating change interventions during the transformation of an unethical organizational culture to an ethical one.

We present the results of two studies utilizing the novel theoretical perspective of individual adaptability (I-ADAPT) theory in the study of cross-cultural adjustment. Study 1, implementing a two-wave prospective design and involving 156 international students, examined the relationships between I-ADAPT and cultural identification on cross-cultural adjustment. We found that I-ADAPT positively related to cross-cultural adjustment and that cultural identification mediated this relationship. Study 2, using a three-wave prospective design and involving 312 international students, extended Study 1 by including openness to experience as a control variable and perceived stress as an additional mediator. We confirmed the mediating roles of cultural identification and perceived stress between I-ADAPT and cross-cultural adjustment. Our results offer support for future research utilizing I-ADAPT theory in the study of international adjustment.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the mediating role of psychological contract fulfillment in the relationship between socialization tactics and attachment-related outcomes (i.e. organizational commitment and person-organization fit). Design/methodology/approach Data were obtained from online data collection services which allowed for a custom sample of new employees (n=326) from a variety of organizations and industries. Findings Psychological contract fulfillment partially mediated the relationship between one socialization tactic (i.e. social) and attachment-related outcomes. Post hoc analyses offered support for a hierarchy of socialization tactics with respect to prediction of organization-relevant outcomes. Research limitations/implications Researchers and practitioners have long believed socialization plays an important role in creating successful new employees. However, researchers have yet to adequately examine the mechanisms facilitating these relationships. This study advances the socialization literature by highlighting one such mechanism – psychological contract fulfillment. Originality/value This study seeks to explore the “black box” of socialization. Specifically, whereas prior work has suggested one tactic (i.e. social) may be more important than others, this is among the few studies exploring a potential hierarchy of socialization tactics. The authors then discuss the implications of this hierarchy for future research.

No abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the influence of broad cultural dimensions, as well as those of religion and legal origin, on countries’ economic freedom, i.e., trade freedom, investment freedom, business freedom, labor freedom, monetary freedom, as well as a composite measure of economic freedom. Design/methodology/approach Linear regression of publicly available data regarding economic freedom (Miller et al., 2018) on cultural dimensions (Hofstede, 2009), legal origin and religion (LaPorta et al., 1999) for 52 countries was performed to determine the impact of these factors on economic freedom. Findings Results indicated femininity was the cultural dimension associated with the most measures of economic freedom. Short-term-oriented cultures were predictive of greater business freedom, while more restrained cultures were associated with greater business and monetary freedoms. Higher individualism was predictive of greater monetary freedom. Catholicism positively predicted investment freedom and negatively predicted business freedom. French civil law negatively predicted labor freedom, while socialist legal origins positively predicted trade freedom, but negatively predicted business freedom. Originality/value This is the first study to examine the impacts of culture, law and religion on economic freedom. One practical implication of this research is that countries would be wise to emphasize more feminine aspects in their cultures, as these are associated with greater economic freedom. Even minor adjustments that move in the direction of cooperation and fair processes might help increase economic freedoms and the many benefits that stem from such freedoms.

Small teams’ decisions play a major role in shaping business and society. As political differences permeate our lives, their influence is increasingly being felt throughout organizations. Yet, little is known about how executives’ political differences influence the Top Management Team’s decision-making processes. We integrate literatures on executive diversity, political polarization, and small teams to develop a new construct, Top Management Team political polarization, and examine how this team characteristic influences two critical parts of the strategic decision-making process: comprehensiveness and speed. We also propose behavioral integration reduces polarization’s drawbacks, offering improvements to decision-making processes in these polarizing times.

The authors develop a model of ethical orientation based on responses to a series of ethically questionable vignettes using factor analysis and a categorical regression procedure. The factors used to explain variance in responses are theism orientation, age, sex, and intrinsic and extrinsic religious motivation orientation. The results confirm earlier research in that age and sex are not significant in and of themselves. An important finding is that theistic orientation is significant and also displays a strong relation to extrinsic orientation. Interaction effects between sex and theism are also discovered and explained. The results are illuminating in highlighting the importance to ethical orientation not of religious orientation per se but of the extrinsic orientation and its interaction with sex. The paper, thus, illuminates more deeply the sex–ethics connection. Last, while not particularly significant, there is also an identified age effect on ethical orientation which confirms moral development theory.