Measurement properties of the construct of the code of ethics content: The South African experience
Background: Many organisations develop codes of ethics to help guide business conduct. However, not much is known about the contents of codes of ethics. Objectives: This article aims at investigating the code of ethics content construct and its measurement properties using a sample of firms from...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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AOSIS
2018-08-01
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| Series: | South African Journal of Business Management |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://sajbm.org/index.php/sajbm/article/view/197 |
| _version_ | 1818007185175609344 |
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| author | Mercy Mpinganjira Mornay Roberts-Lombard Goran Svensson Greg Wood |
| author_facet | Mercy Mpinganjira Mornay Roberts-Lombard Goran Svensson Greg Wood |
| author_sort | Mercy Mpinganjira |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background: Many organisations develop codes of ethics to help guide business conduct. However, not much is known about the contents of codes of ethics.
Objectives: This article aims at investigating the code of ethics content construct and its measurement properties using a sample of firms from South Africa.
Method: The study followed a quantitative research approach. The sampling frame consisted of the top 500 companies in South Africa. A structured questionnaire was administered using the telephone survey method. The respondents consisted of company secretaries and heads or managers responsible for ethics in the respective companies. At the end of the data collection period, a total of 222 usable responses were obtained.
Results: The findings show that South African top companies have comprehensive codes of ethics as evidenced by the high mean values obtained from all of the content items under investigation. The findings also support the notion that the code of ethics content construct is multidimensional. Seven different dimensions were confirmed in the analysis. The measurement model of the ethics content construct was found to be valid as evidenced by the goodness-of-fit measure and measures of validity.
Conclusion: The study shows that the code of ethics construct is multi-dimensional in nature. The framework provided in this study can also be used in developing, evaluating and strengthening existing codes where such need arises. This study contributes to theory on business ethics and presents the first tested measurement model of the code of ethics construct in South Africa. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-14T05:12:23Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-344105e905244f168e3b2e91f0bb5059 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2078-5585 2078-5976 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-14T05:12:23Z |
| publishDate | 2018-08-01 |
| publisher | AOSIS |
| record_format | Article |
| series | South African Journal of Business Management |
| spelling | doaj.art-344105e905244f168e3b2e91f0bb50592022-12-22T02:10:29ZengAOSISSouth African Journal of Business Management2078-55852078-59762018-08-01491e1e810.4102/sajbm.v49i1.197188Measurement properties of the construct of the code of ethics content: The South African experienceMercy Mpinganjira0Mornay Roberts-Lombard1Goran Svensson2Greg Wood3School of Consumer Intelligence and Information Systems, University of JohannesburgDepartment of Marketing Management, University of JohannesburgKristiania University CollegeKristiania University CollegeBackground: Many organisations develop codes of ethics to help guide business conduct. However, not much is known about the contents of codes of ethics. Objectives: This article aims at investigating the code of ethics content construct and its measurement properties using a sample of firms from South Africa. Method: The study followed a quantitative research approach. The sampling frame consisted of the top 500 companies in South Africa. A structured questionnaire was administered using the telephone survey method. The respondents consisted of company secretaries and heads or managers responsible for ethics in the respective companies. At the end of the data collection period, a total of 222 usable responses were obtained. Results: The findings show that South African top companies have comprehensive codes of ethics as evidenced by the high mean values obtained from all of the content items under investigation. The findings also support the notion that the code of ethics content construct is multidimensional. Seven different dimensions were confirmed in the analysis. The measurement model of the ethics content construct was found to be valid as evidenced by the goodness-of-fit measure and measures of validity. Conclusion: The study shows that the code of ethics construct is multi-dimensional in nature. The framework provided in this study can also be used in developing, evaluating and strengthening existing codes where such need arises. This study contributes to theory on business ethics and presents the first tested measurement model of the code of ethics construct in South Africa.https://sajbm.org/index.php/sajbm/article/view/197organisational code of ethicscode contentcodes of conductcorporate governanceSouth Africa |
| spellingShingle | Mercy Mpinganjira Mornay Roberts-Lombard Goran Svensson Greg Wood Measurement properties of the construct of the code of ethics content: The South African experience South African Journal of Business Management organisational code of ethics code content codes of conduct corporate governance South Africa |
| title | Measurement properties of the construct of the code of ethics content: The South African experience |
| title_full | Measurement properties of the construct of the code of ethics content: The South African experience |
| title_fullStr | Measurement properties of the construct of the code of ethics content: The South African experience |
| title_full_unstemmed | Measurement properties of the construct of the code of ethics content: The South African experience |
| title_short | Measurement properties of the construct of the code of ethics content: The South African experience |
| title_sort | measurement properties of the construct of the code of ethics content the south african experience |
| topic | organisational code of ethics code content codes of conduct corporate governance South Africa |
| url | https://sajbm.org/index.php/sajbm/article/view/197 |
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