View in EDS HTML Full Text PDF Full Text

Unpacking and Extending Moral Injury: Comments on Nielsen et al. (2024).

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Title: Unpacking and Extending Moral Injury: Comments on Nielsen et al. (2024).
Authors: Crayne, Matthew P.1 (AUTHOR) mcrayne@albany.edu
Source: Journal of Business Ethics. Jan2026, Vol. 203 Issue 1, p205-216. 12p.
Subject Terms: Harm (Ethics), Organizational ethics, Mental health of military personnel, Emotional trauma, Research ethics
Abstract: Moral injury is a unique form of psychosocial trauma caused by the violation of deeply held values. Predominantly studied in military and clinical psychology, recent calls for expansion to other fields have led to increased interest in organizational science. However, the general dearth of research and theory on moral injury in these disciplines has created space for prior literature to be misunderstood or misrepresented in a way that could unintentionally dilute the construct and thereby future research. Such is the case, in my view, of a recent qualitative study by Nielsen and colleagues (Journal of Business Ethics 194:233–249). In this commentary, I articulate what I see as several critical misalignments between this study and established moral injury theory and research. In doing so, I aim to provide conceptual clarity on what moral injury is versus what it is not, focused on construct validity and the appropriateness of measurement. I engage with these issues to add additional context and consistency to this growing literature. I conclude my comments noting several positive and additive contributions of this work, as well as my view of future directions for moral injury research in organizational science. [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.)
Database: Education Research Complete
Full text is not displayed to guests.
FullText Links:
  – Type: pdflink
Text:
  Availability: 1
Header DbId: ehh
DbLabel: Education Research Complete
An: 190547113
AccessLevel: 6
PubType: Academic Journal
PubTypeId: academicJournal
PreciseRelevancyScore: 0
IllustrationInfo
Items – Name: Title
  Label: Title
  Group: Ti
  Data: Unpacking and Extending Moral Injury: Comments on Nielsen et al. (2024).
– Name: Author
  Label: Authors
  Group: Au
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Crayne%2C+Matthew+P%2E%22">Crayne, Matthew P.</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> mcrayne@albany.edu</i>
– Name: TitleSource
  Label: Source
  Group: Src
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Journal+of+Business+Ethics%22">Journal of Business Ethics</searchLink>. Jan2026, Vol. 203 Issue 1, p205-216. 12p.
– Name: Subject
  Label: Subject Terms
  Group: Su
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Harm+%28Ethics%29%22">Harm (Ethics)</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Organizational+ethics%22">Organizational ethics</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Mental+health+of+military+personnel%22">Mental health of military personnel</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Emotional+trauma%22">Emotional trauma</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Research+ethics%22">Research ethics</searchLink>
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
  Group: Ab
  Data: Moral injury is a unique form of psychosocial trauma caused by the violation of deeply held values. Predominantly studied in military and clinical psychology, recent calls for expansion to other fields have led to increased interest in organizational science. However, the general dearth of research and theory on moral injury in these disciplines has created space for prior literature to be misunderstood or misrepresented in a way that could unintentionally dilute the construct and thereby future research. Such is the case, in my view, of a recent qualitative study by Nielsen and colleagues (Journal of Business Ethics 194:233–249). In this commentary, I articulate what I see as several critical misalignments between this study and established moral injury theory and research. In doing so, I aim to provide conceptual clarity on what moral injury is versus what it is not, focused on construct validity and the appropriateness of measurement. I engage with these issues to add additional context and consistency to this growing literature. I conclude my comments noting several positive and additive contributions of this work, as well as my view of future directions for moral injury research in organizational science. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
– Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright
  Label:
  Group: Ab
  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.)
PLink https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=ehh&AN=190547113
RecordInfo BibRecord:
  BibEntity:
    Identifiers:
      – Type: doi
        Value: 10.1007/s10551-025-06009-6
    Languages:
      – Code: eng
        Text: English
    PhysicalDescription:
      Pagination:
        PageCount: 12
        StartPage: 205
    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: Harm (Ethics)
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Organizational ethics
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Mental health of military personnel
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Emotional trauma
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Research ethics
        Type: general
    Titles:
      – TitleFull: Unpacking and Extending Moral Injury: Comments on Nielsen et al. (2024).
        Type: main
  BibRelationships:
    HasContributorRelationships:
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Crayne, Matthew P.
    IsPartOfRelationships:
      – BibEntity:
          Dates:
            – D: 01
              M: 01
              Text: Jan2026
              Type: published
              Y: 2026
          Identifiers:
            – Type: issn-print
              Value: 01674544
          Numbering:
            – Type: volume
              Value: 203
            – Type: issue
              Value: 1
          Titles:
            – TitleFull: Journal of Business Ethics
              Type: main
ResultId 1