Advice-Taking in Ethical Dilemmas

• Published in: Journal of managerial issues Vol. 32; no. 3; pp. 334 - 353
• Main Authors: Franklin, Danny, Guerber, Amy J.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Pittsburg Pittsburg State University 22-09-2020; Pittsburg State University - Department of Economics; Pittsburg State University, Department of Economics
• Subjects: Accuracy; Advisors; Analysis; Decision making; Ethics; Perceptions; Social aspects; Values
• ISSN: 1045-3695; 2328-7470

This paper explores the impact of individual and situational factors on openness to advice in ethical decision-making. When faced with an ethical dilemma, organizational members may come to rely on social interactions to help interpret the situation and determine acceptable outcomes. Past studies of advice-taking have found that decision-makers are generally more open to advice which they believe will improve the accuracy or quality of their decision and when they believe their decision has important implications; however, previous research has not explored possible differences in advice-taking between ethical and non-ethical decisions. The current study compares the influence of factors which have been found to impact openness to advice in non-ethical decisions (the General Advice-Taking or GAT model) with a proposed theoretical model specifically relevant to the ethical decision-making context (the Ethical Decision Advice-Taking or EDAT model). The results suggest that there are important differences in advice-taking motivations and behaviors in ethical as opposed to non-ethical decisions, and these differences may have important implications for managers seeking to design ethical decision support systems.