Research examining ethical decision-making considers ethical climate one of the primary mediators through which ethical judgments and behaviors are influenced. However, supporting empirical evidence is mixed and indicates that other mediators may serve in a similar capacity. The current study proposes and tests a separate internal mediator, the ethical self-concept, believed to regulate and influence ethical thought and behavior as a function of the strength and frequency with which it is activated by external behavioral cues. To test the effects of this mediator, a questionnaire was created to examine the relationship between several ethical influencing factors (rewards and sanctions for ethical behavior, supervisor and peer ethical influence, and codes of ethics), two mediating variables (perceptions of ethical climate and ethical self-concept) and ethical judgments and behavioral intentions. Regression analyses were utilized to test specific hypotheses throughout. Overall, mild support was found for the effect of the five influencing variables on perceptions of ethical climate, which, in turn, affected ethical behavioral intentions. However, as hypothesized, stronger support was found for the effect of the same influencing variables working through activation of the ethical self-concept to influence both ethical judgments and behavioral intentions. Together, both mediators provide promising pathways through which organizational influences may guide individuals' ethical decision-making.
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