New trends in codes of ethics

Czech business ethics preferences by the dawn of Covid-19

Bibliographic Data

ID19484338
AuthorsRadka Macgregor Pelikánová (0000-0001-9628-7146, Metropolitan University Prague), Robert Kenyon MacGregor (0000-0003-2888-3880, Metropolitan University Prague), Martin Černek (0000-0003-0474-2880)
Year2021
Volume12
Issue4
Pages973-1009
Publication date2021-12-21
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueOeconomia Copernicana (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2083-1277 • E-ISSN: 2353-1827
PublisherInstytut Badan Gospodarczych / Institute of Economic Research (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.24136/oc.2021.032
OpenAlexW4200610197
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited118

Research background: The morality and sustainability depend upon the active engagement of all stakeholders. Businesses might have to observe minimum standards via their corporate social responsibility (CSR), but this does not imply any mandatory and enforceable requirements for their internal documents. Crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic magnify differences and might impact the perception and commitment to ethics and modify preferences. Purpose of the article: Since it is up to each and every business whether it will issue Codes of Ethics or Codes of Conduct (Codes) and how they will project ethical principles, values and concerns in them, it is both illuminative and instrumental to conduct a massive theoretical and literature review, to identify five aspects for exploration of Codes: (i) human nature (ii) moral values (iii) ethical principles, (iv) reasoning and (v) sustainability pillars, and to perform such an exploration via a case study at the dawn of the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: Based on a massive theoretical and literature review, five aspects for exploration have been identified and employed in a case study involving twenty Codes of the largest Czech businesses, while focusing on their preferences. This is to be achieved by a holistic advanced content analysis employing meta-analysis and manual Delphi method with Likert scoring by a panel of experts. Findings & value added: The case study reveals that generally Codes prefer (i) Socrates ́ perception of human nature, (ii) respect and responsibility as moral values, (iii) the principle of solidarity, (iv) social contract and deontological reasoning and (v) the sustainability social pillar. These findings demonstrate discrepancies and inconsistencies between and also within these Codes, which often paternalistically reject the multi-stakeholder approach that is needed to overcome COVID-19. This litigates for the appropriateness of this new methodology and encourages further longitudinal case studies entailing more jurisdictions and industries

Business ethics · Categorical imperative · Corporate social responsibility · Czech · Delphi method · Engineering ethics · Ethical code · Likert scale · Morality · Perception · Political science · Public relations · Social responsibility · Sociology · Solidarity · Sustainability · Computer Science · Corporate Social Responsibility Reporting · Human Resources and Workforce · Law · Psychology · Ukrainian Legal and Forensic Studies

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