A Partial Test of the Synthesis Integrated Model of Ethical Decision Making: Cognitive Moral Development and Managerial Moral Deliberation

Abstract

Lawrence Kohlberg's (1969) concept of cognitive moral development (CMD) has been one of the most investigated constructs in the field of social psychology, with over one thousand studies reported investigating this construct in only two decades of research. However, what is the relationship of this theoretical construct to actual decision making and behavior? Blasi (1980, p. 4) opined for the criticality of moral judgement research to both ethical decision making and ethical inquiry, stating that “without judgement, an action, no matter how beneficial, would not be moral.” Relating Kohlberg's model to business decision making and behavior has been central to the building of theoretical frameworks of the ethical decision making process engaged in by individuals. The models of this process proposed by Trevino and Youngblood (1990), Trevino (1986), Bommer, Gratto, Gravender, and Tuttle (1987), Ferrell and Gresham (1985), Ferrell, Gresham, and Fraedrich (1989), Swinyard, DeLong, and Cheng (1989), and Jones (1991) all contained cognitive moral development as a factor in their respective models of ethical decision making.

Citation

Wyld, D.C., Jones, C.A., Cappel, S.D. and Hallock, D.E. (1994), "A Partial Test of the Synthesis Integrated Model of Ethical Decision Making: Cognitive Moral Development and Managerial Moral Deliberation", Management Research News, Vol. 17 No. 3/4, pp. 17-39. https://doi.org/10.1108/eb028338