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Moral Intensity: It Is What Is, But What Is It? A Critical Review of the Literature.

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Title: Moral Intensity: It Is What Is, But What Is It? A Critical Review of the Literature.
Authors: Kusyk, Sophia1 (AUTHOR) skusyk@redeemer.ca, Schwartz, Mark S.2 (AUTHOR) schwartz@yorku.ca
Source: Journal of Business Ethics. Sep2025, Vol. 200 Issue 3, p487-508. 22p.
Subject Terms: *Theory, Ethical decision making, Ethics, Business ethics
People: Jones, Thomas M.
Abstract: Scholarship into the empirical relationship between moral intensity (MI) and ethical decision-making (EDM) offers only equivocal empirical results. This ethical decision-making study is the first cumulative review to synthesize and assess over three decades of research into Jones' (1991) MI construct by investigating the influence of each of the MI characteristics on Rest's (1986) ethical decision-making stages (EDMS): awareness, judgment, intention, and behavior. After classifying 125 empirical papers according to the effect each moral intensity characteristic has on each EDMS, only two of six MI characteristics (magnitude of consequences and social consensus) were found to have a consistent positive association, three characteristics were observed to have a moderate relationship (temporal immediacy, concentration of effect, and probability of effect), while proximity appears to have only a weak connection with EDM. This research review challenges the current conceptualization of the MI construct on both empirical and theoretical grounds. The analysis concludes with a brief discussion of the managerial implications of the analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Journal of Business Ethics is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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  Data: Scholarship into the empirical relationship between moral intensity (MI) and ethical decision-making (EDM) offers only equivocal empirical results. This ethical decision-making study is the first cumulative review to synthesize and assess over three decades of research into Jones' (1991) MI construct by investigating the influence of each of the MI characteristics on Rest's (1986) ethical decision-making stages (EDMS): awareness, judgment, intention, and behavior. After classifying 125 empirical papers according to the effect each moral intensity characteristic has on each EDMS, only two of six MI characteristics (magnitude of consequences and social consensus) were found to have a consistent positive association, three characteristics were observed to have a moderate relationship (temporal immediacy, concentration of effect, and probability of effect), while proximity appears to have only a weak connection with EDM. This research review challenges the current conceptualization of the MI construct on both empirical and theoretical grounds. The analysis concludes with a brief discussion of the managerial implications of the analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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  Data: <i>Copyright of Journal of Business Ethics is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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