The increasing awareness of managers concerning the need for them to respect codes of ethics in their jobs is closely related with their perception that in the long run an ethical posture can result in significant competitive advantages based on a positive external image of the corporation and higher levels of workers' satisfaction and performance. However, the choices managers made when facing ethical dilemas are influenced as well by individual factors, not strategical in nature, that can play an important role in the decision-making process. More than never, understanding these factors is a crucial step to develop a culture that enables ethical social development, and that assures, at the same time, the desirable business sustainability. This study aims to contribute for the debate on corporate ethics, presenting a theoretical model based on hypothesis that explore cultural, moral and contextual factors that can influence socially-based corporate practices.
ethics; moral; culture; corporate social performance
