Title: The influence of workplace ethics training on leader decision-making

Authors: Sibylla Meine Andrean

Addresses: University of Phoenix, 2787 Silver Oak Ct. Chula Vista, CA 91914, USA

Abstract: This study explored the influence of ethics training on leader decision-making and was guided by two research questions: How do leaders perceive that ethics training influenced their decision-making and how can leaders enhance the effectiveness of ethics training to positively influence decision-making? The focus was on leaders' experiences in large publicly traded companies. The study was conducted using a qualitative approach and narrative inquiry design. To gather data, open-ended interview questions were used. Thematic content analysis was used to analyse data by looking for themes in the data that offered insight into the research questions. Three major themes emerged: ethics training increases ethical awareness, ethics training reinforces existing values, and to make ethics training more effective, the training must be more interactive. Findings revealed workplace ethics training did not have a major influence on the ethical behaviour and decision-making of leaders, but it did help to increase their ethical awareness.

Keywords: ethics training; impact of ethics training; ethics training programs; business ethics; ethics evaluation; ethical decision-making.

DOI: 10.1504/IJBGE.2025.142901

International Journal of Business Governance and Ethics, 2025 Vol.19 No.1, pp.94 - 111

Received: 23 Mar 2022
Accepted: 16 Apr 2023
Published online: 02 Dec 2024 *

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