Moral courage in the workplace: moving to and from the desire and decision to act

Relationships between Authentic Leadership, Moral Courage, and Ethical and Pro-Social Behaviors

“…In a review of multiple studies, Rest, Narvaez, Bebeau, and Thoma (1999) reported that the most commonly used measure of cognitive moral judgment capacity, the Defining Issues Test, typically explains just 20 percent of the variance in actual ethical behavior. Consistent with Hannah, Avolio et al (2011) and others (e.g., Kidder, 2005;Sekerka & Bagozzi, 2007), we suggest that the conation to act ethically, as represented by moral courage, will help explain why one actor will step up and act while another who arrives at the same ethical judgment in the same situation will stand by and fail to act.Despite the theoretical arguments for the importance of moral courage in promoting ethical behavior (Kidder, 2005;Kidder & Bracy, 2001), prior empirical work (e.g., Sekerka, Bagozzi, & Charnigo, 2009;Woodard & Pury, 2007) has two primary limitations. First, there is an absence of research testing whether moral courage predicts actual ethical behaviors.…”

“…This includes positive acts carried out to produce and maintain the well-being and integrity of others, such as helping coworkers, sharing, cooperating, and respecting and treating coworkers with dignity (Brief & Motowidlo, 1986). This perspective views pro-social behavior as deliberate behavior that is influenced by one's moral courage, as moral courage entails invoking inner standards to do what is good for others (Sekerka & Bagozzi, 2007). We know of no research to date that has investigated the relationship between moral courage and pro-social behavior.…”

“…For example, some researchers have defined moral courage as a character strength or trait that provides followers with an inner psychological strength to draw from when facing tough ethical choices (e.g., Kidder & Bracy, 2001;Miller, 2002;Peterson & Seligman, 2004). Other authors have argued that moral courage is formed in situ whereby the personal agency required to act when faced with ethical challenges or threats is developed (e.g., Sekerka & Bagozzi, 2007). In this case, moral courage is not a static trait or property, but is viewed as being a malleable individual property where different levels of moral courage are created depending on the influence of situational factors on the actor's psychological processes (Hannah, Avolio, et al, 2011;Hannah & Avolio, 2010).…”

The Battle for Business Ethics: A Struggle Theory

“…As Sekerka and Bagozzi (2007) put it, willpower refers to the strength of will to face and resolve ethical challenges and to confront obstacles that may stand in the way of proceeding with the right action. Willpower is the motivational strength to remain and become ethical.…”

Responsible Leadership and the Political Role of Global Business

“…In the last resort, if leaders are faced with irreconcilable interests and persistent disagreement, making responsible leadership successful rests on the individual assessment of those making the decisions. In this regard, it needs moral courage, which is the ability to pursue what is considered as right despite potential personal consequences that leaders may face (Sekerka & Bagozzi, 2007).…”