دانلود رایگان مقاله انگلیسی تصمیم گیری اخلاقی مبتنی بر داده ها، روابط جانبی و تعهد سازمانی - امرالد 2017

Abstract

Purpose – Focusing on ethical issues when making organizational decisions should encourage a variety of positive outcomes for companies and their employees. The purpose of this paper is to determine the degree to which data-based ethical decision making, lateral relations and organizational commitment are interrelated in organizations. Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected from business professionals employed at multiple locations of a financial services firm operating in the USA. Mediation analysis (based on structural equation modeling) was used to test the proposed relationships. Findings – Results indicated that employees’ perceptions of data-based ethical decision making were positively related to perceived lateral relations, and that perceived lateral relations were positively related to organizational commitment. Research limitations/implications – Given that information was collected using only a self-report questionnaire, common method bias could be an issue. In addition, the study’s cross-sectional design limits conclusions about causality. Another limitation involves the study’s homogenous sample, which decreases the generalizability of the findings. Finally, variable responses could have been impacted by individual frames of reference and other perceptual differences. Practical implications – Results suggest that information flow enhancements should support or be consistent with horizontal information flow enhancements, and that together these factors should increase employee commitment. Originality/value – Given the dearth of existing research, this interdisciplinary investigation is important because it fills gaps in the management literature. This study is also important because the results could inform decisions regarding the use of data analysis in ethical decisions and lateral forms of organizational structuring to improve work attitudes.

Discussion

The findings of this investigation indicated that stronger perceptions of data-based ethical decision making were associated with stronger beliefs that the organization utilized lateral relations, measured as coordinated decision making and functional integration. Stronger beliefs in lateral relations were also associated with increased organizational commitment among employees. Finally, a direct relationship between data-based ethical decision making and organizational commitment was not identified, and Model 2 (the framework specifying partial mediation) did not provide a significant improvement over Model 1 (the framework specifying full mediation). The results showed that lateral relations fully mediated the relationship between data-based ethical decision making and organizational commitment. These findings present several critical managerial and research implications for organizational and operational ethics. Prior research has rarely (if ever) examined theoretically or empirically the possibility of a relationship between data-based ethical decision making and lateral relations. However, the existence of a strong positive relationship between these variables appears to be consistent with the information processing view of the firm (e.g. Galbraith, 1974), as well as related perspectives on organizational design and organization theory (e.g. Burns and Stalker, 1961; Lawrence and Lorsch, 1967; Simon, 1960; etc.). This result suggests that information flow enhancement appears to be compatible with a data-based ethical culture/climate. This suggests multiple avenues that organizations may pursue to increase information processing capacity and facilitate the institutionalization of an effective and enduring organizational ethical context.