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Scoring Firms’ Codes of Ethics: An Explorative Study of Quality Drivers

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Abstract

Research in the field of management has increasingly focused on strategies and tools related to corporate sustainability. Of the tools examined, codes of ethics have been found to play a primary role. Many studies have investigated the content of such codes, as well as their capacity to condition the behaviour of people within organizations. However, few studies have considered the intrinsic quality of codes of ethics. This study aims to investigate the impact that specific factors—firm size, degree of internationalization and industry effect—can have on the quality of codes of ethics. Based on a sample of 248 listed Italian companies, the results of the empirical analysis show that the quality standard is particularly high in larger companies and in those firms operating in industries in which relationships established with critical stakeholders—and disclosure to those stakeholders—play a crucial role. These results have interesting implications for both researchers and practitioners.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Muel Kaptein, Editor of the Journal of Business Ethics, and the anonymous reviewers for their comments and support. We also thank Valentina Cortellazzi for her support in collecting data. Participants at the European Business Ethics Network (EBEN) 2012 Research Conference, New Castle, 7–9 June, and at 12th European Academy of Management Annual Conference, Rotterdam, 6–8 June, 2012 are also gratefully acknowledged for their comments. The authors contributed equally to this work and are listed in alphabetical order.

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  1. Department of Management, LUM University, S.S. 100 km 18, 70010, Casamassima, BA, Italy

    Giovanni Maria Garegnani & Angeloantonio Russo

  2. Department of Accounting, Università Bocconi, Via Röntgen, 1, 20136, Milan, Italy

    Emilia Piera Merlotti

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  1. Giovanni Maria Garegnani
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  3. Angeloantonio Russo
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Correspondence to Angeloantonio Russo.

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Table 4 Scoring model: categories and items
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Garegnani, G.M., Merlotti, E.P. & Russo, A. Scoring Firms’ Codes of Ethics: An Explorative Study of Quality Drivers. J Bus Ethics 126, 541–557 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-013-1968-8

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