The shortened Corporate Ethical Virtues scale: Measurement invariance and mean differences across two occupational groups

Abstract

So far, the field of business ethics lacks validated measures for assessing virtues at the organizational level. The aim of this study is to investigate the measurement invariance of a shortened Corporate Ethical Virtues scale. In this manner, we contribute to validating an instrument that is both psychometrically sound and efficient to use. We conducted two survey studies of two independent groups (managers and school psychologists). Confirmatory factor analysis supported the eight‐factor model of the scale, and we found it to be invariant in two different occupational groups. The managers gave higher appraisals of ethical culture than the psychologists did in seven out of the eight dimensions. We found that despite the contextual differences, the shortened scale measures the eight dimensions of organizational ethical virtues, as intended. Thus, the use of this more compact scale can be recommended for future studies, which will hopefully stimulate more research on ethical culture in various work contexts.

Phronesis in administration and organizations: A literature review and future research agenda

“…Overly hierarchical organizations limit morally virtuous actions (Morrell & Brammer, 2016; Phillips & Hall, 2013). Ideally, organizational culture should be built with attention to moral aspects (Huhtala et al., 2018), promoting an environment conducive to the development of phronesis and moral virtues.…”

“…Source: Elaborated by the authors Establishing a connection to Aristotle's (1999) notions of courage, the authors suggest that institutional routines and practices support courage. This is important, especially for culture and institutional improvement by virtues (Huhtala et al, 2018;Kaptein, 2016;Moore, 2015).…”

“…In business ethics, for example, positive organizational scholarship prioritizes the measurement of external manifestations of virtues, with little emphasis on the role of phronesis in human action (Sison & Ferrero, 2015). On the contrary, organizational aspects may contribute to virtuous actions, such as culture (Huhtala, Kangas, Kaptein, & Feldt, 2018; Kaptein, 2016) compliance and integrity (Calderón, Piñero, & Redín, 2017), and governance practices (Bernacchio & Couch, 2015).…”

Team Ethical Cultures Within an Organization: A Differentiation Perspective on Their Existence and Relevance

“…Given that the aim of our study is to find out in what respect team ethical cultures differ (when they do differ), we have to use the CEV model because so far it is the only multidimensional scale of ethical culture. To preserve construct validity, the choice of the CEV model also reflects its recent use in many empirical studies on ethical culture (e.g., Huhtala et al 2015Huhtala et al , 2016Huhtala et al , 2018Kangas et al 2016Kangas et al , 2017Pučėtaitė et al 2016;Riivari and Lämsä 2014;Zaal et al 2017).…”

Longitudinal Patterns of Ethical Organisational Culture as a Context for Leaders’ Well-Being: Cumulative Effects Over 6 Years

“…It refers to the experiences, presumptions, and perceptions of how unethical behaviour is prevented and how ethical behaviour is promoted in one's organisation (Treviño and Weaver 2003). However, research on organisational ethics has been strongly dominated by cross-sectional studies, even up to 90% (see Huhtala et al 2018;Mayer 2014;McLeod et al 2016, for reviews). We therefore lack evidence of the long-term effects ethical culture might have on individuals.…”