Company leaders operating in today’s hyper-connected business world are more aware than ever of the importance of thinking and acting ethically, while diligently setting standards for their employees to follow. Scandals or the discovery of underhand business tactics can sink external reputations, and unethical behaviour can slowly cripple an organisation from within by stifling morale and hamstringing operational effectiveness. Then there are the tangible costs to consider: recent estimates suggest that corporate fraud in US firms results in losses of $180 billion each year, while employee theft generates annual losses of $40 billion. But what happens when employees act unethically to the company’s benefit? How far will organisational leaders go to enforce their ethically based corporate social responsibility (CSR) efforts, for example, when they could turn a blind eye and deliver benefits to both the company and their own position within it?
