The Relationship of Communication, Ethical Work Climate, and Trust to Commitment and Innovation

Recently, Hosmer (1994a) proposed a model linking “right,” “just,” and “fair” treatment of extended stakeholders with trust and innovation in organizations. The current study tests this model by using Victor and Cullen's (1988) ethical work climate instrument to measure the perceptions of the “right,” “just,” and “fair” treatment of employee stakeholders.In addition, this study extends Hosmer's model to include the effect of “right,” “just”, and “fair” treatment on employee communication, also believed to be an underlying dynamic of trust.More specifically, the current study used a survey of 111 managers to test (1) whether “right,” “just,” and “fair” treatment influences trust, both directly as well as indirectly via communication, and (2) whether trust influences perceptions of commitment and innovation. Strong support for the study's hypotheses and Hosmer's (1994a) model was found. Such findings support those who argue that moral management may be good management.

[1]  Sigal G. Barsade,et al.  Personality, Organizational Culture, and Cooperation: Evidence from a Business Simulation. , 1995 .

[2]  M. Petty,et al.  Relationships between Organizational Culture and Organizational Performance , 1995 .

[3]  David W. Johnson,et al.  Cooperation and Competition: Theory and Research , 1989 .

[4]  Raymond F. Zammuto,et al.  Quantitative and qualitative studies of organizational culture , 1991 .

[5]  J. H. Davis,et al.  An Integrative Model Of Organizational Trust , 1995 .

[6]  R. Phillips.  Stakeholder Theory and A Principle of Fairness , 1997, Business Ethics Quarterly.

[7]  J. Jarillo.  On strategic networks , 1988 .

[8]  Bart Victor,et al.  The Ethical Climate Questionnaire: An Assessment of its Development and Validity , 1993 .

[9]  Jeffrey L. Bradach,et al.  Price, Authority, and Trust: From Ideal Types to Plural Forms , 1989 .

[10]  Relationship between Psychological Climate and Trust between Salespersons and Their Managers in Sales Organizations , 1993 .

[11]  G. Graen,et al.  Toward a psychology of dyadic organizing. , 1987 .

[12]  Walter W. Powell.  Trust-Based Forms of Governance , 1996 .

[13]  Sheila K. Ruhland,et al.  The organizational bases of ethical work climates in lodging operations as perceived by general managers , 1996 .

[14]  W. Nord,et al.  Implementing Routine and Radical Inno-vation , 1986 .

[15]  Edgar H. Schein,et al.  On dialogue, culture, and organizational learning , 1993 .

[16]  Robert W. Zmud,et al.  The Influence of IT Management Practice on IT Use in Large Organizations , 1994, MIS Q..

[17]  Debra L. Shapiro,et al.  Betrayal of Trust in Organizations , 1998 .

[18]  P. Drucker.  The discipline of innovation. , 1998, Harvard business review.

[19]  J. Shepard,et al.  Toward an understanding of ethical climate: Its relationship to ethical behavior and supervisory influence , 1994 .

[20]  Paul F. Williams,et al.  Reinforcing Ethical Decision Making Through Corporate Culture , 1997 .

[21]  Omar A. Ei Sawy,et al.  Implementation by cultural infusion: an approach for managing the introduction of information technologies , 1985 .

[22]  W. H. Davidow,et al.  The Virtual Corporation: Structuring and Revitalizing the Corporation for the 21st Century , 1992 .

[23]  Jon M. Werner,et al.  Managers as Initiators of Trust: An Exchange Relationship Framework for Understanding Managerial Trustworthy Behavior , 1998 .

[24]  P. Ring,et al.  Developmental Processes of Cooperative Interorganizational Relationships , 1994 .

[25]  M. Fleischer,et al.  processes of technological innovation , 1990 .

[26]  K. Klein,et al.  The Challenge of Innovation Implementation , 1996 .

[27]  L. Hosmer,et al.  Why Be Moral? A Different Rationale for Managers , 1994, Business Ethics Quarterly.

[28]  S. Sitkin,et al.  Explaining the Limited Effectiveness of Legalistic “Remedies” for Trust/Distrust , 1993 .

[29]  Randolph B. Cooper,et al.  Implications of the competing values framework for management information systems , 1993 .

[30]  S. Robinson.  Trust and Breach of the Psychological Contract , 1996 .

[31]  S. Vitell,et al.  The Influence of Corporate Culture on Managerial Ethical Judgments , 1997 .

[32]  R. E. Miles,et al.  Trust in organizations: A conceptual framework linking organizational forms, managerial philosophies, and the opportunity costs of controls. , 1996 .

[33]  Daniel J. McAllister.  Affect- and Cognition-Based Trust as Foundations for Interpersonal Cooperation in Organizations , 1995 .

[34]  Why be Moral?: A Reply to Shaw and Corvino , 1997, Business Ethics Quarterly.

[35]  T. Jones.  INSTRUMENTAL STAKEHOLDER THEORY: A SYNTHESIS OF ETHICS AND ECONOMICS , 1995 .

[36]  R. Burt,et al.  Trust and third-party gossip. , 1996 .

[37]  D. Cohen.  Creating and Maintaining Ethical Work Climates: Anomie in the Workplace and Implications for Managing Change , 1993, Business Ethics Quarterly.

[38]  Earl R. Babbie,et al.  The practice of social research , 1969 .

[39]  S. Sackmann.  Culture and Subcultures: An Analysis of Organizational Knowledge , 1992 .

[40]  L. Hosmer,et al.  RESPONSE TO ‘DO GOOD ETHICS ALWAYS MAKE FOR GOOD BUSINESS?’ , 1996 .

[41]  R. Lewicki,et al.  Developing and Maintaining Trust in Work Relationships , 1996 .

[42]  C. Handy.  Trust and the virtual organization , 1999 .

[43]  J. H. Davis,et al.  An integrative model of organizational trust, Academy of Management Review, : . , 1995 .

[44]  Brian L. Hawkins,et al.  Studying Interpersonal Communication in Organizations: A Leadership Application , 1985 .

[45]  Paul L. Schindler,et al.  The Structure of Interpersonal Trust in the Workplace , 1993 .

[46]  David C. Wyld,et al.  The Importance of Context: The Ethical Work Climate Construct and Models of Ethical Decision Making -- An Agenda for Research , 1997 .

[47]  J. G. Holmes,et al.  Trust in close relationships. , 1985 .

[48]  Bart Victor,et al.  The Organizational Bases of Ethical Work Climates , 1988 .

[49]  J. Rentsch.  Climate and culture : interaction and qualitative differences in organizational meanings , 1990 .

[50]  John K. Butler,et al.  Communication Factors and Trust: An Exploratory Study , 1994 .