Moral Education for Sustainable Development: Exploring Morally Challenging Business Situations within the Global Supply Chain Context

Jung Ha-Brookshire, Laura McAndrews, Jooyoun Kim, Charles Freeman, Byoungho Jin, Pamela Norum, Melody L. A. LeHew, Elena Karpova, Lesya Hassall and Sara Marcketti
Additional contact information
Jung Ha-Brookshire: Textile and Apparel Management, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211, USA
Laura McAndrews: Textile, Merchandising, and Interiors, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA
Jooyoun Kim: Textiles, Merchandising and Fashion Design, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Korea
Charles Freeman: School of Human Sciences, Mississippi State University, Starkville, MS 39762, USA
Byoungho Jin: Consumer, Apparel and Retail Studies, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Greensboro, NC 27402, USA
Pamela Norum: Textile and Apparel Management, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211, USA
Melody L. A. LeHew: Apparel, Textiles, and Interior Design, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66506, USA
Elena Karpova: Apparel, Events, and Hospitality Management, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011, USA
Lesya Hassall: Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011, USA
Sara Marcketti: Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011, USA

Sustainability, 2017, vol. 9, issue 9, 1-17

Abstract: This study presents the need for moral development education of current and future professionals so they can help build sustainable companies and global supply chains. Grounded in Ha-Brookshire’s moral responsibility theory of corporate sustainability, the authors explored a set of real-life business situations where business professionals experienced morally challenging dilemmas. The study was conducted within the context of the textile and apparel (TA) industry because of the global and fragmented supply chain nature of the industry. The real-life business situations were interpreted using Kohlberg’s moral development stage theory. The results of in-depth individual interviews followed by three focus groups of industry professionals in spring 2017 showed that participants have experienced a variety of morally challenging business situations throughout their careers. This includes simple problems at the individual and firm levels, as well as wicked and complex problems at the industry and global levels. The study concludes that for TA businesses to be truly sustainable, professionals’ moral ability is critical and, therefore, appropriate moral development education is necessary.

Keywords: moral development; moral education; corporate sustainability; business situations (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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