Wage Cuts and Managers’ Empathy: How a Positive Emotion Can Contribute to Positive Organizational Ethics in Difficult Times

Joerg Dietz () and Emmanuelle Kleinlogel

Journal of Business Ethics, 2014, vol. 119, issue 4, 472 pages

Abstract: Using the lens of positive organizational ethics, we theorized that empathy affects decisions in ethical dilemmas that concern the well-being of not only the organization but also other stakeholders. We hypothesized and found that empathetic managers were less likely to comply with requests by an authority figure to cut the wages of their employees than were non-empathetic managers. However, when an authority figure requested to hold wages constant, empathy did not affect wage cut decisions. These findings imply that empathy can serve as a safeguard for ethical decision making in organizations during trying times without generally undermining organizational effectiveness. We conclude by discussing the implications of our research. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2014

Keywords: Business ethics; Positive scholarship; Positive organizational ethics; Empathy; Compliance; Obedience; Ethical decision making (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2014
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (9)

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DOI: 10.1007/s10551-013-1836-6

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