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Journal of Business Ethics
Published in: Journal of Business Ethics 1/2022

03-01-2021 | Original Paper

Team Over-Empowerment in Market Research: A Virtue-Based Ethics Approach

Authors: Terry R. Adler, Thomas G. Pittz, Hank B. Strevel, Dina Denney, Susan D. Steiner, Elizabeth S. Adler

Published in: Journal of Business Ethics | Issue 1/2022

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Abstract

Few scholars have investigated the considerations of over-empowered teams (i.e., teams creating negative organizational outcomes from too much empowerment) from a non-consequential ethics approach. Leveraging a virtue-based ethics lens of team empowerment, we provide a framework of team ethical orientation and over-empowerment using highly influential market research teams as a basis for our analysis. The purpose of this research is to contrast how teams founded on virtue-based ethics (such as diligence, integrity, honesty) can attenuate ethical dilemmas and negative organizational outcomes from team over-empowerment. We provide a framework of four conditions that include Sophisticated, Suppressed, Contagion, and Impeded to discuss alignment between team ethical orientation and team empowerment. Through this framework, we aim to further our understanding of empowered team behavior between action that is virtuous, moral, and ethical and activity that threatens organizational values and goals.
previous article An Ethical Inquiry of the Effect of Cockpit Automation on the Responsibilities of Airline Pilots: Dissonance or Meaningful Control?
next article A Moral Cleansing Process: How and When Does Unethical Pro-organizational Behavior Increase Prohibitive and Promotive Voice

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Metadata
Title
Team Over-Empowerment in Market Research: A Virtue-Based Ethics Approach
Authors
Terry R. Adler
Thomas G. Pittz
Hank B. Strevel
Dina Denney
Susan D. Steiner
Elizabeth S. Adler
Publication date
03-01-2021
Publisher
Springer Netherlands
Published in
Journal of Business Ethics / Issue 1/2022
Print ISSN: 0167-4544
Electronic ISSN: 1573-0697
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-020-04702-2

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