Broad Shareholder Value and the Inevitable Role of Conscience

Weitzel, Paul D.; Rodgers, Zachariah J.

doi:10.2139/ssrn.2497598

Cited by 3 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 3 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…However, a seemingly unnoticed reason for corporate ruin is a lack of conscience. This is perhaps not surprising given the common disregard for conscience in business (Stout ; Weitzel and Rodgers ). Little wonder that nothing appears to have stood between corporate executives at Adelphia, Dynegy, Global Crossing, HealthSouth, Lehman Brothers, Qwest, Sprint, Vivendi, Tyco, Worldcom, Enron, Volkswagen, among others (Patsuris ), and their unconscionable behavior.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Conscientious Objections to Corporate Wrongdoing

Solas¹

2019

Business and Society Review

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In recent years, there has been increasing concern about unethical conduct within corporate business, not least because of the scandalous behavior of former chief executives at top blue chip companies such as Enron, Worldcom, Parmalat, and Volkswagen. These scandals have not only threatened the privileged position of senior corporate employees but also the solvency of the companies they manage and lead. The high profile cases of corporate crime and corruption that occurred in the early 2000s together with the 2008 Wall Street bailouts and the growth in criminal prosecutions since have raised the profile of business ethics to an unprecedented level. Greater public sensitivity toward and awareness about the unlawful and immoral conduct of firms in the United States and elsewhere, has created demand for organizations to become more accountable and socially responsible and prompted greater regulatory scrutiny. It has also served to highlight the embryonic and delimited state of research and scholarship on business ethics, where the focus has tended to remain on leadership. A neglected, though important, line of ethical enquiry concerns followership. Corporate wrongdoing would be less formidable and extensive if it was not aided and abetted. Two key questions arise. First, what prompts followers to support rather than oppose bad leaders? Second, what can be done to stem or at least curtail their allegiance to bad leaders?

show abstract

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In contrast to democratic institutions, those employed in private enterprise are generally expected to place corporate, above other, interests (Weitzel and Rodgers ). They are not typically given leave to mandate company policies, practices, or priorities.…”

Section: The Development Of a Collective Consciencementioning

confidence: 99%