Individual and contextual factors in ethical decision making: A case study of the most significant doping scandal in Canadian university sports history

Robert Copeland and Luke R. Potwarka

Sport Management Review, 2016, vol. 19, issue 1, 61-68

Abstract: This case study is written for instructors of sport management courses focused on ethics and integrity-related issues in team environments. The case highlights the real world example of the University of Waterloo Warriors varsity football that, in 2010, experienced the most significant doping scandal in Canadian university sports history, with a total of nine anti-doping rule violations asserted through the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport. This case study also incorporates the findings of an independent review of the Waterloo football program in relation to the use of banned substances, and includes first-hand accounts from Bob Copeland who was the acting director of athletics. These findings are then interpreted in the context of relevant theory related to performance enhancing drugs (PEDs) use. Along with the findings of this review, which included interviews with athletes, coaches, and administrators, the case study provides important insights into ethical decision making processes and leadership structures in a team sport environment. Particular emphasis is placed on the role that individual cognitive antecedents and contextual organizational factors (i.e., policies, leadership, ethical climate, and infrastructure) play in ethical decision-making processes.

Keywords: Behavioral ethics; Organizational behavior; Performance enhancing drugs (PEDs); Contextual influences; Moral awareness; Moral disengagement; Moral judgment (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1441352315000741
Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:spomar:v:19:y:2016:i:1:p:61-68

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/716936/bibliographic
http://www.elsevier. ... 716936/bibliographic

DOI: 10.1016/j.smr.2015.08.004

Access Statistics for this article

Sport Management Review is currently edited by Tracy Taylor

More articles in Sport Management Review from Elsevier
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Catherine Liu ().