Arthavaan Vol 6 Dec 2023 is available in print also

Volume 5 Special Issue November 2022

Emotions and Ethical Decision Making: Literature Review and Research Agenda
1- 12 PAGES | 277 VIEWS | 8 DOWNLOADS

Dr Seema Gupta Associate Professor, Deshbandhu College, University of Delhi, 

Shreya Gupta, Management Trainee, Reliance Retail 

DOI:


Abstract

Traditionally,  ethical  decision  making  is  perceived  as  a  rational  and  cognitive  process  by academicians  and  researchers.  The  contemporary  authors  have  linked  emotions  to  ethical decision making (EDM) and integrated the concept with organisational decision-making in a business  setup.  This  literature  review  attempts  to  contribute  to  the  ongoing  discussion  on consumer  ethics  by  conducting  an  exhaustive  and  in-depth  analysis  of 32  papers  that  were published in 14 journals between the years 2001 and 2021. The objective of this conceptual paper  is  to  investigate  the  empirical  evidence  for  the  role  of  emotion  in  EDM  in  business organisations. Theoretical frameworks provide for the synthesis of the influence of emotions on the cognitive process, although reflections of the processing of emotions in the EDM process is not so clearly evident by practitioners in organisations.

Keywords: 

Emotions, Ethical decision making, business ethics, organisational research

References:

1. Angie, A. D., Connelly, S., Waples, E. P., & Kligyte, V. (2011). The influence of discrete emotions on judgement and decision-making: A meta-analytic review. Cognition & Emotion, 25(8), 1393-1422.

2. Baker, D. F. (2017). Teaching empathy and ethical decision making in business schools. Journal of Management Education, 41(4), 575-598.

3. Bartlett, D. (2003). Management and business ethics: a critique and integration of ethical decision‐making models. British Journal of Management, 14(3), 223-235.

4. Bonner, J. M., Greenbaum, R. L., & Quade, M. J. (2017). Employee unethical behavior to shame as an indicator of self-image threat and exemplification as a form of  self-image  protection:  The  exacerbating  role  of  supervisor  bottom-line mentality. Journal of Applied Psychology, 102(8), 1203.

5. Casali, G. L., & Perano, M. (2021). Forty years of research on factors influencing ethical decision making: Establishing a future research agenda. Journal of Business Research, 132, 614-630.

6. Celuch, K., Saxby, C., & Oeding, J. (2015). The influence of counterfactual thinking and regret on ethical decision making. Journal of education for business, 90(4), 175- 181.

7.Chen, A., Treviño, L. K., & Humphrey, S. E. (2020). Ethical champions, emotions, framing, and team ethical decision making. Journal of Applied Psychology, 105(3), 245.

8. Connelly, S., Helton-Fauth, W., & Mumford, M. D. (2004). A managerial in-basket study of the impact of trait emotions on ethical choice. Journal of Business Ethics, 51(3), 245-267.

9.  Connolly, T., & Zeelenberg, M. (2002). Regret in decision making. Current directions in psychological science, 11(6), 212-216.

10. Craft, J. L. (2013). A review of the empirical ethical decision-making literature: 2004–2011. Journal of business ethics, 117(2), 221-259.

11. Crane, R. S., Brewer, J., Feldman, C., Kabat-Zinn, J., Santorelli, S., Williams, J. M. G., & Kuyken, W. (2017). What defines mindfulness-based programs? The warp and the weft. Psychological medicine, 47(6), 990-999.

12. Curtis,  M.  B.  (2006).  Are  audit-related  ethical  decisions  dependent  upon mood?. Journal of business ethics, 68(2), 191-209.

13. Dedeke, A. (2015). A cognitive–intuitionist model of moral judgment. Journal of Business Ethics, 126(3), 437-457.

14. Dietz, J., & Kleinlogel, E. P. (2014). Wage cuts and managers’ empathy: How a positive emotion can contribute to positive organizational ethics in difficult times. Journal of Business Ethics, 119(4), 461-472.

15. Diochon, P. F., & Nizet, J. (2019). Ethics as a fabric: An emotional reflexive sensemaking process. Business Ethics Quarterly, 29(4), 461-489.

16. Dunn, P., Farrar, J., & Hausserman, C. (2018). The influence of guilt cognitions on taxpayers’ voluntary disclosures. Journal of Business Ethics, 148(3), 689-701.

17. Fida, R., Paciello, M., Tramontano, C., Fontaine, R. G., Barbaranelli, C., & Farnese, M. L. (2015). An integrative approach to understanding counterproductive work behavior: The roles of stressors, negative emotions, and moral disengagement. Journal of business ethics, 130(1), 131-144.

18. Garfinkel, S. N., Tiley, C., O'Keeffe, S., Harrison, N. A., Seth, A. K., & Critchley, H. D. (2016). Discrepancies between dimensions of interoception in autism: Implications for emotion and anxiety. Biological psychology, 114, 117-126.

19. George, J. M., & Dane, E. (2016). Affect, emotion, and decision making. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 136, 47-55.

20. Ghorbani, M., Liao, Y., Çayköylü, S., & Chand, M. (2013). Guilt, shame, and reparative behavior: The effect of psychological proximity. Journal of Business Ethics, 114(2), 311-323.

21. Haidt, J. (2001). The emotional dog and its rational tail: a social intuitionist approach to moral judgment. Psychological review, 108(4), 814.

22. Hastie, R. (2001). Problems for judgment and decision making. Annual review of psychology, 52(1), 653-683.

23. Higgs, C., McIntosh, T., Connelly, S., & Mumford, M. (2020). Self-focused emotions and ethical decision-making: Comparing the effects of regulated and unregulated guilt, shame, and embarrassment. Science and engineering ethics, 26(1), 27-63.

24. Jayawardena-Willis, T. S., Pio, E., & McGhee, P. (2021). The divine states (brahmaviharas) in managerial ethical decision-making in organisations in Sri Lanka: An interpretative phenomenological analysis. Journal of Business Ethics, 168(1), 151-171.

25. Jeong, S. S., Sun, C., & Fu, P. P. (2020). Softening the hearts of business students: the role of emotions in ethical decision making. Journal of Management Education, 44(3), 278-312.

26. Johnson, J. F., & Connelly, S. (2016). Moral disengagement and ethical decision- making: The moderating role of trait guilt and shame. Journal of Personnel Psychology, 15(4), 184.

27. Keltner, D., & Lerner, J. S. (2010). Emotion. In S. T. Fiske, D. T. Gilbert, & G. Lindzey (Eds.), Handbook of Social Psychology (5th ed., pp. 317-352). Hoboken, NJ : John Wiley.

28. Kiewitz, C., Restubog, S. L. D., Shoss, M. K., Garcia, P. R. J. M., & Tang, R. L. (2016). Suffering in silence: Investigating the role of fear in the relationship between abusive supervision and defensive silence. Journal of applied psychology, 101(5), 731.

29. Kohlberg, L. (1994). Moral Development: Kohlberg's original study of moral development (No. 3). Taylor & Francis.

30. Koporcic, N., & Nietola, M. Business decision making: understanding the dynamic role of emotions.

31. Krishnakumar, S., & Rymph, D. (2012). Uncomfortable ethical decisions: The role of negative emotions and emotional intelligence in ethical decision-making. Journal of Managerial Issues, 321-344.

32. Kugler, T., Noussair, C. N., & Hatch, D. (2021). Does disgust increase unethical behavior? A replication of winterich, mittal, and morales (2014). Social Psychological and Personality Science, 12(6), 938-945.

33. Kupers, W., & Weibler, J. R. (2008). Emotions in organisation: an integral perspective. International Journal of Work Organisation and Emotion, 2(3), 256- 287.

34. Kusev, P., Purser, H., Heilman, R., Cooke, A. J., Van Schaik, P., Baranova, V., ... & Ayton, P. (2017). Understanding risky behavior: The influence of cognitive, emotional and hormonal factors on decision-making under risk. Frontiers in psychology, 8, 102.

35. Lerner, J. S., Li, Y., Valdesolo, P., & Kassam, K. S. (2015). Emotion and decision making. Annual review of psychology, 66(1).

36. McCool, L. M., & Bremser, J. A. (2014). Individual differences in disgust sensitivity do not influence moral reasoning, but a discipline-specific ethics course does. SAGE Open, 4(3), 2158244014541774.

37. Mittal, V., Ross Jr, W. T., & Baldasare, P. M. (1998). The asymmetric impact of negative and positive attribute-level performance on overall satisfaction and repurchase intentions. Journal of marketing, 62(1), 33-47.

38. Motro, D., Ordóñez, L. D., Pittarello, A., & Welsh, D. T. (2018). Investigating the effects of anger and guilt on unethical behavior: A dual-process approach. Journal of Business Ethics, 152(1), 133-148.

39. Noval, L. J. (2016). On the misguided pursuit of happiness and ethical decision

making: The roles of focalism and the impact bias in unethical and selfish behavior. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 133, 1-16.

40. Oveis, C., Horberg, E. J., & Keltner, D. (2010). Compassion, pride, and social intuitions of self-other similarity. Journal of personality and social psychology, 98(4), 618.

41. Pfister, H. R., & Böhm, G. (2008). The multiplicity of emotions: A framework of emotional functions in decision making. Judgment and decision making, 3(1), 5.

42. Pham, M. T., Lee, L., & Stephen, A. T. (2012). Feeling the future: The emotional oracle effect. Journal of Consumer Research, 39(3), 461-477.

43. Raghunathan, R., & Pham, M. T. (1999). All negative moods are not equal: Motivational influences of anxiety and sadness on decision making. Organizational behavior and human decision processes, 79(1), 56-77.

44. Rest, J. R. (1986). Moral development: Advances in research and theory.

45. Russell, J. A. (1980). A circumplex model of affect. Journal of personality and social psychology, 39(6), 1161.

46. Schwartz, J., Padmanabhan, A., Aqui, N., Balogun, R. A., Connelly‐Smith, L., Delaney, M., ... & Shaz, B. H. (2016). Guidelines on the use of therapeutic apheresis in clinical practice–evidence‐based approach from the Writing Committee of the American Society for Apheresis: the seventh special issue. Journal of clinical apheresis, 31(3), 149-338.

47. Sekerka, L. E., Godwin, L. N., & Charnigo, R. (2012). Use of balanced experiential inquiry to build ethical strength in the workplace. Journal of Management Development.

48. Shapiro, S. L., Jazaieri, H., & Goldin, P. R. (2012). Mindfulness-based stress reduction effects on moral reasoning and decision making. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 7(6), 504-515.

49. Singhapakdi, A., Vitell, S. J., Lee, D. J., Nisius, A. M., & Yu, G. B. (2013). The influence  of  love  of  money  and  religiosity  on  ethical  decision-making  in marketing. Journal of business ethics, 114(1), 183-191.

50. Sonenshein, S. (2007). The role of construction, intuition, and justification in responding to ethical issues at work: The sensemaking-intuition model. Academy of Management Review, 32(4), 1022-1040.

51. Thiel, C. E., Connelly, S., & Griffith, J. A. (2011). The influence of anger on ethical decision making: Comparison of a primary and secondary appraisal. Ethics & Behavior, 21(5), 380-403.

52. Vitell, S. J., King, R. A., & Singh, J. J. (2013). A special emphasis and look at the emotional side of ethical decision-making. AMS review, 3(2), 74-85.

53. Winterich, K. P., Morales, A. C., & Mittal, V. (2015). Disgusted or happy, it is not so bad: Emotional mini-max in unethical judgments. Journal of Business Ethics, 130(2), 343-360.

54. Zhong, C. B. (2011). The ethical dangers of deliberative decision making. Administrative Science Quarterly, 56(1), 1-25.

55. Zhu, Y. (2015). The role of Qing (positive emotions) and Li 1 (rationality) in Chinese entrepreneurial decision making: A Confucian Ren-Yi wisdom perspective. Journal

of Business Ethics, 126(4), 613-630.

56. Zolotoy, L., O’Sullivan, D., Seo, M. G., & Veeraraghavan, M. (2021). Mood and ethical decision making: Positive affect and corporate philanthropy. Journal of Business Ethics, 171(1), 189-208.