Corporate governance (CG) is a key area of management with important implications for business ethics. The interface of CG and business ethics is populated with rich intellectual debates on the role of ethics in governance from a multi-disciplinary perspective. Within these debates, the relationship between CG and outcomes for business and society, and the role of CG structures and processes and their comparative aspects across institutional settings are discussed. Despite a proliferation of research at the interface of CG and ethics, (...) we observe that an engagement with topics, methodologies, and expected outcomes drawing on established frames and theories of CG tends to the ignoring or even the preclusion of an explicit engagement with debates in business ethics. Through this VSI, we as section editors showcase previously published papers in the Journal that proactively explore the explicit linkages and interfaces between CG and ethical societal challenges, with the aim of inspiring further such CG research. (shrink)

Whistleblowing is the most effective way to unveil wrongdoings. Indeed, whistleblowers often protect their organizations by providing crucial information. While existing research about whistleblowing focuses on the intentions of whistleblowers to report a wrongdoing _after_ a wrongdoing is observed, we seek to understand how individuals view whistleblowing _before_ a wrongdoing is observed. Drawing on self-determination theory our findings of 34 interviews at diverse Canadian nonprofit organizations support our framework and highlight that when a congruence of shared values exists, trust functions (...) as a core belief of the organization, which positively influences an autonomous view of whistleblowing. Based on our findings, we propose a conceptualization of whistleblowing mindset as the root of whistleblowing behaviours that can be influenced by shared or divergent values. We define a whistleblowing mindset as a mental disposition that predetermines individual interpretations and reactions to the witness of a wrongdoing. Our research contributes to the literature by establishing the importance of the whistleblowing mindset in the implementation of whistleblowing programs and providing insights into how shared values can influence the autonomous view in individuals’ whistleblowing mindsets. (shrink)

This study examines the impact of Sarbanes–Oxley on the nonprofit sector. Focusing on three key SOX policies applicable to charities—conflict-of-interest policies, records retention policies, and whistleblower policies—this study tests the relationship between the existence and addition of these policies on subsequent ethical and governance lapses as reflected in the issuance of “donor advisories” by the large third-party ratings agency Charity Navigator. The findings suggest that, controlling for other relevant organizational factors, the three SOX-inspired written policies are related to a reduced (...) likelihood of donor advisories in the organizations rated by Charity Navigator. (shrink)