Theoretical Research on Organizational Ethical Climate: Applications and Practices of Japanese Enterprises in China

Abstract

Organizational ethical climate, a concept first developed by Bart Victor and John Cullen nearly 30 years ago based on Renato Tagiuri and George Litwin’s theory of organizational climate, continues to serve as an important predictor of employee behavior as well as individual and organizational performance. With greater emphasis placed on business ethics, the theory of organizational ethical climate has also been receiving tremendous attention in China primarily in the context of psychology and management research. This paper offers an overview of recent developments in organizational ethical climate research by Western and Chinese scholars, with a particular focus on its application to Japanese enterprises doing business in China, and proposes various measures and strategies to help managers cultivate effective human resource practices..
Classification-JEL:
Keywords: organizational ethical climate, organizational commitment, anti-ethical behavior, organizational performance, human resource management.