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Introduction
Many types of unethical behavior persist in organizations despite the efforts of legislators, scholars, and responsible people in all occupations and professions. Not only is unethical behavior persistent, it is often an open secret, ignored, tacitly supported, and hidden from the public. It causes great harm to victims, organizations, and society. As such, an intriguing question is, “Why does unethical behavior persist when it is so damaging?” What is known about why unethical behavior occurs in organizations is outlined in the next section before the research question is explored.
Why Unethical Behavior Occurs
For many years, researchers have attempted to understand the antecedents of unethical behavior in work organizations. In the 1960s, researchers used surveys to identify and rank-order factors influencing unethical behavior: (1) behavior of superiors, (2) formal policy or lack thereof, (3) industry ethical climate, (4)...
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Cunningham, P., Drumwright, M.E. (2021). Networks of Complicity and Persistent Unethical Behavior. In: Poff, D.C., Michalos, A.C. (eds) Encyclopedia of Business and Professional Ethics. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-23514-1_270-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-23514-1_270-1
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