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Human Resource Management, Human Resource Management, January/February 2010, Vol. 49, No. 1, Pp. 87– 108 © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI: 10.1002/hrm.20335 EXPLORING THE ETHICALITY OF FIRING EMPLOYEES WHO BLOG SEAN VALENTINE, GARY M. FLEISCHMAN, ROBERT SPRAGUE, AND LYNN GODKIN This exploratory study evaluates the ethical considerations related to em- ployees fired for their blogging activities. Specifically, subject evaluations of two employee-related blogging scenarios were investigated with estab- lished ethical reasoning and moral intensity scales, and a measure of cor- porate ethical values was included to assess perceptions of organizational ethics. The first scenario involved an employee who was fired because of innocuous blogging, while the second vignette involved an employee who was fired because of work-related blogging. Survey data were collected from employed college students and working practitioners. The findings indicated that the subjects’ ethical judgments that firing an employee for blogging was unethical were negatively related to unethical intentions to fire an employee for blogging. Moral intensity was positively related to ethical judgments and negatively related to unethical intentions to fire an employee for blogging, while individual perceptions of ethical values were negatively associated with unethical intentions. Finally, subjects perceived that terminating an em- ployee for innocuous blogging that did not target an employer was more ethically intense than was firing an employee for work-related blogging. The implications of the findings for human resource professionals are discussed, as are the study’s limitations and suggestions for future research. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Keywords: ethical decision making, moral intensity, ethical values, termi- nation, blogging A key Internet phenomenon of the early 21st century has been a dra- matic rise in the number of Web logs (referred to generally and hereafter as “blogs”). Many peo- ple currently chronicle their lives in online diaries and social networks; it is estimated that as many as 5 percent of American work- ers maintain a personal blog (Joyce, 2006). Some blogs are noteworthy because people may post personal or somewhat damaging information including gripes about work, past drug use, and drunken escapades. Un- fortunately, these actions can result in ethi- cal problems, such as the recent SEC inquiry into Whole Foods’ CEO John Mackey’s Correspondence to: Sean Valentine, Department of Management, University of North Dakota, 293 Centennial Drive, Mailstop 8377, Grand Forks, ND 58202-8377, Phone: 701-777-3632, Fax: 701-777-4092, E-mail: sean [email protected].

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Page 1: Exploring the Ethicality of Firing Employees Who Blog - 14

Human Resource Management,Human Resource Management, January/February 2010, Vol. 49, No. 1, Pp. 87– 108

© 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com).

DOI: 10.1002/hrm.20335

EXPLORING THE ETHICALITY OF

FIRING EMPLOYEES WHO BLOG

S E A N VA L E N T I N E , G A R Y M . F L E I S C H M A N , R O B E R T S P R A G U E , A N D LY N N G O D K I N

This exploratory study evaluates the ethical considerations related to em-ployees fi red for their blogging activities. Specifi cally, subject evaluations of two employee-related blogging scenarios were investigated with estab-lished ethical reasoning and moral intensity scales, and a measure of cor-porate ethical values was included to assess perceptions of organizational ethics. The fi rst scenario involved an employee who was fi red because of innocuous blogging, while the second vignette involved an employee who was fi red because of work-related blogging. Survey data were collected from employed college students and working practitioners. The fi ndings indicated that the subjects’ ethical judgments that fi ring an employee for blogging was unethical were negatively related to unethical intentions to fi re an employee for blogging. Moral intensity was positively related to ethical judgments and negatively related to unethical intentions to fi re an employee for blogging, while individual perceptions of ethical values were negatively associated with unethical intentions. Finally, subjects perceived that terminating an em-ployee for innocuous blogging that did not target an employer was more ethically intense than was fi ring an employee for work-related blogging. The implications of the fi ndings for human resource professionals are discussed, as are the study’s limitations and suggestions for future research. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Keywords: ethical decision making, moral intensity, ethical values, termi-nation, blogging

A key Internet phenomenon of the early 21st century has been a dra-matic rise in the number of Web logs (referred to generally and hereafter as “blogs”). Many peo-

ple currently chronicle their lives in online diaries and social networks; it is estimated that as many as 5 percent of American work-

ers maintain a personal blog (Joyce, 2006). Some blogs are noteworthy because people may post personal or somewhat damaging information including gripes about work, past drug use, and drunken escapades. Un-fortunately, these actions can result in ethi-cal problems, such as the recent SEC inquiry into Whole Foods’ CEO John Mackey’s

Correspondence to: Sean Valentine, Department of Management, University of North Dakota, 293 Centennial Drive, Mailstop 8377, Grand Forks, ND 58202-8377, Phone: 701-777-3632, Fax: 701-777-4092, E-mail: [email protected].

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88 HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT, JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2010

Human Resource Management DOI: 10.1002/hrm

anonymous negative comments about com-petitor Wild Oats, which he submitted to Yahoo! Finance message boards over a pe-riod of approximately seven years (Davis, 2007, p. 3). Companies are even firing some “bloggers” because of what they publish online. Appendix A summarizes some of the legal situations and case law involving employees who have been fired as a result of their blogging activities.

Many employees may be surprised to learn that they could be fired for doing no

more than “water cooler” griping on their personal blogs (Estlund, 2002); employment law indeed favors a company’s ability to ter-minate blogging employees. Legal compliance, however, is not the only challenge because ethics is also a concern when HR profes-sionals decide to fire employees who blog. In other words, a con-ceptual distinction exists between “what is legal” versus “what is ethical” when making such deci-sions. In short, legality does not always equate to ethicality. Our focus here pertains to the ethical-ity of decisions to terminate em-ployees who blog.

Because human resource man-agers have substantial discretion to evaluate employee blogging situations, it is critical that the termination of blogging employ-ees be consistent with societal norms of fairness and justice (or implied social contract), a princi-

ple that is explored in integrative social con-tracts theory (Donaldson & Dunfee, 1994). An ethical organizational context must also be developed so that individuals respond more favorably to dilemmas experienced in the workplace. The purpose of this study, therefore, was to investigate the nature of ethical decision making in various “termi-nated for blogging” situations, particularly emphasizing the impact of perceived moral intensity and corporate ethical values on ethical judgment and unethical intentions to fire employees for blogging.1 The subjects

used in this study were employed in numer-ous business sectors; therefore, they provided a useful representation of broad ethical busi-ness norms.

The study’s framework (see Figure 1) is based on the idea that ethical decisions about blogging terminations, when consistent with perceptions of issue contingencies and corpo-rate ethical values that raise awareness of ethical issues, should mitigate employer-employee conflict and reduce litigation be-cause social contracts are honored and organizational ethical standards are supported (Donaldson & Dunfee, 1994). The following research questions were investigated:

What is the relationship between ethical judgments and unethical intentions in situations involving the termination of an employee for blogging?

What is the relationship between perceiv-ed moral intensity and ethical reasoning in situations involving the termination of an employee for blogging?

What is the relationship between perceiv-ed corporate ethical values and ethical reasoning in situations involving the termination of an employee for blog-ging?

How does terminating an employee for innocuous blogging (compared to blog-ging about work) impact ethical reason-ing?

These questions are particularly impor-tant given that human resource policies re-lated to employee blogging are an emerging concern, and no uniform guidelines have es-tablished standards about the acceptability of blogging activities. This research provides human resource professionals with a broader understanding of the ethical implications of firing employees who blog. While the law may allow such a practice, doing so might adversely affect management perceptions and the company’s ethical culture. For instance, it is possible that such perceptions could pre-cipitate negative workplace consequences such as decreased morale, job attitudes, and productivity, as well as increased absenteeism and turnover.

1.

2.

3.

4.

Employment law

indeed favors a

company’s ability to

terminate blogging

employees. Legal

compliance,

however, is

not the only

challenge because

ethics is also a

concern when HR

professionals decide

to fire employees

who blog.

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EXPLORING THE ETHICALITY OF FIRING EMPLOYEES WHO BLOG 89

Human Resource Management DOI: 10.1002/hrm

The exploratory nature of this research also represents the first attempt to evaluate empirically some of the ethical issues related to blogging terminations, thus filling a note-worthy gap in the human resource manage-ment literature. This study is particularly unique compared to extant research because blogging situations span the boundary be-tween “work and self.” Discerning how indi-viduals view differences in their work and private lives should increase our understand-ing of any potential conflicts. Further, this study clarifies how the ethicality of blogging, and managers’ reactions to such blogging can vary, depending on issue-related factors embedded in the situation and ethical values that exist in a company’s culture.

The remainder of this article is organized as follows. The next section reviews the rele-vant literature and presents the hypotheses; it is followed by a discussion of this study’s methodology. The empirical results are then

summarized, and the paper concludes with an overview of the implications for human resource management.

Literature Review

Legal Issues

In the United States, the majority of employ-ment relationships are subject to the employ-ment-at-will doctrine (Sprang, 1994). The employment-at-will doctrine provides that for an employment relationship of an indefi-nite term, either the employer or the em-ployee may terminate the relationship at any time, with or without cause, as long as the termination does not violate a contract or employment-related statute (Cottone, 2002; Guz v. Bechtel Nat’l, Inc., 2000; Walsh & Schwarz, 1996). All states (except Montana) and the District of Columbia have adopted this doctrine.

FIGURE 1. Summary of the Hypothsized Relationships Among the Blogging Situation, Moral Intensity, Corporate Ethical Values, and the Ethical Decision-Making Process

Situation in which employee is firedfor innocuous blogging(instead of work-related

blogging)

Judgment thatfiring an

employee forblogging isunethical

Corporateethicalvalues

Unethical intentionsto fire an

employee forblogging

(+) (-)

(+)

(+)

(-)

(+) (-)

(-)

Perceived moralintensity in a

situation involvingan employeebeing fired

for blogging

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90 HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT, JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2010

Human Resource Management DOI: 10.1002/hrm

While the employment-at-will doctrine can be managed effectively, taken to an ex-treme the agreement means that employers can dismiss persons for arbitrary or even

irrational reasons: “because of of-fice politics, nepotism, preference for left-handedness, astrological sign, or their choice of favorite sports team” (Bird, 2004, p. 551). Also due to this doctrine, employ-ees have minimal legal recourse if they are fired for blogging (Sprague, 2007). Consequently, it is likely that unjust and unfair termination practices related to blogging would prompt ethical sensitivity; further, ethical reason-ing should be particularly pro-found in situations that involve firing an employee for innocuous blogging that does not harm a company.

Integrative Social Contracts Theory

Integrative social contracts theory provides one conceptual lens to understand the ethical reasoning process, suggesting that both macro- and microlevel social con-tracts guide how individuals make ethical decisions based on precon-ceived ideas of right and wrong (Donaldson & Dunfee, 1994). The “macrosocial” contract includes important “hypernorms” that es-tablish universal notions of right and wrong about serious miscon-duct, or “principles so fundamen-tal to human existence that they serve as a guide in evaluating lower level moral norms” (Don-aldson & Dunfee, 1994, p. 264). The “microsocial” contract is de-veloped on a smaller scale in dif-ferent communities, professions, and organizations and establishes “much of the substance of busi-

ness ethics” (Donaldson & Dunfee, 1994, pp. 254–263). The microsocial contract ap-

plies to the ethical norms of the specific community in question and can vary, de-pending on the standards found in different groups, including businesses.

In sum, integrative social contracts theory (Donaldson & Dunfee, 1994) suggested that the accepted norms of behaviors are defined by the relevant social environmental context. A related issue that makes the present study unique is that blogging may span two social environments and may therefore involve two conflicting social contracts. For example, one macrosocial contract specified by the U.S. Constitution is “freedom of speech”; how-ever, a microsocial contract specified by a business may indicate that discussing busi-ness matters in a personal blog is unaccept-able. Clearly, conflicts from varying social contracts may create ethical dilemmas for blogging employees. Some individuals may disregard organizational blogging policies because of their belief in freedom of speech, while others comply with blogging policies because they recognize organizational social contracts.

Ethical Reasoning

Ethical decision making is conceptualized in different ways throughout the business eth-ics literature. Despite disparities, such rea-soning is generally composed of affective, cognitive, and behavioral components, which ultimately lead to either ethical con-duct congruent with acceptable business norms and social mores or unethical conduct that breaks these standards (Ferrell & Gresham, 1985; Hunt & Vitell, 1986; Jones, 1991; Reidenbach & Robin, 1988, 1990; Rest, 1979, 1986, 1994; Trevino, 1986).

One of the most prominent frameworks of ethical reasoning contains four steps that demonstrate how individuals face ethical problems from psychological and behavioral perspectives (Jones, 1991; Rest, 1986). The process begins with awareness of an ethical issue, followed by judging the behaviors in question. After making ethical judgments, individuals establish future intentions to be-have in a manner consistent with ethical evaluations. Ethical intentions ultimately

A related issue that

makes the present

study unique is

that blogging may

span two social

environments and

may therefore

involve two

conflicting social

contracts. For

example, one

macrosocial

contract specified

by the U.S.

Constitution is

“freedom of

speech”; however,

a microsocial

contract specified

by a business

may indicate

that discussing

business matters in

a personal blog is

unacceptable.

Page 5: Exploring the Ethicality of Firing Employees Who Blog - 14

EXPLORING THE ETHICALITY OF FIRING EMPLOYEES WHO BLOG 91

Human Resource Management DOI: 10.1002/hrm

manifest in demonstrated ethical conduct (Jones, 1991; Rest, 1979, 1986, 1994).

Of these four steps, ethical judgment and intention are arguably the most centralized components because individuals are directly assessing and reacting to ethical problems. While these variables are positively interre-lated, ethical judgment and ethical intention represent highly distinct aspects of decision making, such that a “decision about what is morally ‘correct,’ a moral judgment, is not the same as a decision to act on that judg-ment, that is, to establish moral intent” (Jones, 1991, p. 386). Ethical (or moral) judgment involves an individual’s overall as-sessment of the ethicality of the actions in question, which generally includes broadly evaluating moral equity, justice, and fairness based on individual ethics (Reidenbach & Robin, 1988, 1990; Rest, 1986). These assess-ments stem from an individual’s level of cog-nitive moral development, which progresses from the most basic motivations of social exchange to acknowledging higher-level ethical values (Jones, 1991; Trevino, 1986; Trevino & Nelson, 2007).

Alternatively, ethical intentions drive how an individual actually plans to behave when confronting an ethical problem, or, more specifically, how the decision maker intends to act out his/her ethical judgment made in the previous step (Rest, 1986). Jones (1991) noted, “The establishment of moral intent is important to the moral decision-making and behavior … because intentions are important determinants of behavior” (p. 387). Most researchers therefore assume that when an individual plans to behave in a certain manner, it is likely that he or she will, indeed, act the way he/she planned (Ajzen & Fishbein, 1980). This thereby makes ethical intentions an adequate proxy measure for ethical conduct. Consequently, this study focuses on ethical judgments and unethical intentions to fire an employee for blogging,2 which is consistent with prior work and facilitates analyzing core ethical reasoning (e.g., Jones, Massey, & Thorne, 2003). Judg-ments that firing a blogging employee are unethical should be negatively associated with unethical intentions to fire a blogging

employee. The following hypothesis high-lights this negative association occurring in questionable termination for blogging situa-tions:

Hypothesis 1: The judgment that fi ring an em-ployee for blogging is unethical will be negatively related to the unethical intention to fi re an em-ployee for blogging.

Moral Intensity

When employees make ethical decisions, they are often influenced by the nature of the situation, including the outcomes, severity, and time-bound characteristics. In the ethics literature, these issue-contingent factors are embedded in a variable known as “moral in-tensity,” which is defined as “a construct that captures the extent of issue-related moral im-perative in a situation” (Jones, 1991, p. 371). Moral intensity contains several dimensions that reflect different issue-related factors such as the strength of negative outcomes, agree-ment about the ethicality of behaviors, the likelihood and timing of outcomes, the close-ness of others involved, and the strength of outcomes (Jones, 1991).3 Previous research shows that these elements, alone and in con-cert, can influence different steps of ethical reasoning (Barnett, 2001; Barnett & Valen-tine, 2004; Carlson, Kacmar, & Wadsworth, 2002; Frey, 2000; Morris & McDonald, 1995; Singer, 1996; Singhapakdi, Vitell, & Franke, 1999; Singhapakdi, Vitell, & Kraft, 1996).

The connection between moral intensity and ethical reasoning appears to be particu-larly relevant in situations that involve termi-nating employees who blog. For instance, the link between moral intensity and ethical rea-soning is based on the concept of “propor-tionality,” meaning that accountability is situation-based, as well as the legal notion that punishment should appropriately fit misdeeds (Jones, 1991, p. 373). The tenets of integrated social contracts theory also suggest that various community standards should influence ethical evaluations of the issue-related factors embedded within an ethical situation or problem (Donaldson & Dunfee, 1994). The “just cause” reasoning for

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92 HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT, JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2010

Human Resource Management DOI: 10.1002/hrm

terminating blogging employees who injure a company or exhibit insubordination is ar-guably linked to elements of moral intensity, such as the magnitude of consequences and probability of effects, which should influence the degree to which employment separation is considered an ethical management prac-

tice. Perceived moral intensity (i.e., harm to the company, likeli-hood of adverse impact, intensity of harm) should also increase when an employee participates in a public blog, thereby weakening a defense of invasion of privacy or intrusion upon seclusion and in-creasing decisions that blogging is unethical. Similarly, a “no-blogging” work policy builds greater consensus in the organiza-tion that unscrupulous Internet postings are unacceptable, further elucidating community standards that firing employees who partici-pate in blogs is acceptable.

Alternatively, if employers do not develop blogging policies, in-vade private blogging Web sites to obtain information, and/or criti-cize employees for innocuous blogging about matters other than work, employees who are fired for such actions may be considered victims. If this occurs, the percep-tual components of moral inten-sity would be directed at the injustices and inequities targeted at the employees rather than at the company, reducing support for a “termination-for-blogging” practice. These perceptions would

also influence ethical judgments and unethi-cal intentions associated with such action, causing an organization’s members to believe that terminating employees for blogging is an unethical human resource practice. The fol-lowing hypotheses are thus presented based on the positive link between moral intensity and ethical judgment and the negative rela-tionship between moral intensity and unethi-cal intentions that occurs when employee termination for blogging is questionable:

Hypothesis 2: Perceived moral intensity will be positively related to the judgment that fi ring an employee for blogging is unethical.

Hypothesis 3: Perceived moral intensity will be negatively related to the unethical intention to fi re an employee for blogging.

Ethical Values

In addition to issue contingencies, percep-tions of an organization’s ethical values should also influence ethical reasoning in terminating an employee for blogging be-cause past work suggests that stronger understanding of corporate and community standards can enhance ethical conduct (Don-aldson & Dunfee, 1994; Ferrell, Fraedrich, & Ferrell, 2008; Ferrell & Gresham, 1985; Trev-ino, 1986; Trevino & Nelson, 2007). For in-stance, integrative social contracts theory addresses the importance of corporate ethical values, because the theory’s microsocial con-tract is based on the organization’s accepted ethical norms (Donaldson & Dunfee, 1994). Indeed, organizational ethical values (the ethical context) are the overriding principles regarding acceptable conduct that establish clear guidelines about how employees are expected to behave when working (Ferrell et al., 2008; Hunt, Wood, & Chonko, 1989; Trevino & Nelson, 2007). When these prin-ciples are clearly understood, ethical values can enhance company culture so that busi-ness ethics become acutely institutionalized (Hunt et al., 1989; Sims, 1991). Part of this process relies prominently on leadership’s commitment to adopt ethical values, discuss ethics with employees, and behave ethically (Jose & Thibodeaux, 1999; Trevino, 1986; Trevino & Nelson, 2007; Viswesvaran, Desh-pande, & Joseph, 1998). When employees witness such commitment, they begin to in-ternalize ethical values through vicarious so-cial learning and group socialization (Ferrell et al., 2008; Jose & Thibodeaux, 1999). This, in turn, encourages them to reference values when confronting ethical dilemmas on the job.

There is reason to believe that employees’ perceptions of ethical values are particularly

Perceived moral

intensity (i.e., harm

to the company,

likelihood of adverse

impact, intensity

of harm) should

also increase

when an employee

participates in

a public blog,

thereby weakening

a defense of

invasion of privacy

or intrusion upon

seclusion and

increasing decisions

that blogging is

unethical.

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EXPLORING THE ETHICALITY OF FIRING EMPLOYEES WHO BLOG 93

Human Resource Management DOI: 10.1002/hrm

relevant to ethical decisions involving termi-nating employees who blog. For instance, ethical values should underscore the impor-tance of justice and equity when dealing with personnel. When a manager breaks these basic tenets by unfairly terminating an indi-vidual for blogging (especially innocuous activities), employees should consider such action unethical. Further, individual manag-ers’ perceptions of ethical values should make them less likely to terminate an employee for blogging because doing so would create a conflict between the company’s ethical stan-dards and the employee’s actions. Previous research supports the notion that ethical val-ues should strengthen ethical decision mak-ing or, likewise, weaken unethical reasoning (Barnett & Vaicys, 2000; Douglas, Davidson, & Schwartz, 2001; Jones & Kavanagh, 1996; Singhapakdi, Salyachivin, Virakul, & Veeray-angkur, 2000; Valentine & Barnett, 2007). The following hypotheses based on these ob-servations are therefore offered:

Hypothesis 4: Perceived ethical values are posi-tively related to the judgment that fi ring an em-ployee for blogging is unethical.

Hypothesis 5: Perceived ethical values are nega-tively related to the unethical intention to fi re an employee for blogging.

The Nature of Blogging and Ethical Decisions

As mentioned, integrative social contracts theory (Donaldson & Dunfee, 1994) implies that employee blogging may generate con-flicts between the macrosocial and microso-cial environments. When a manager fires an employee for innocuous blogging, therefore, this action should be considered substantially more unethical compared to firing an em-ployee for blogging that targets an employer, given higher levels of perceived moral inten-sity. Firing innocuous bloggers would also violate the “just cause” principle because the company is not being harmed and employee insubordination is not an issue. We expect, therefore, that perceptions of moral intensity and ethical judgments would be strength-

ened in situations where employees are fired for innocuous blogging compared to situa-tions where individuals are terminated for work-related blogging. Similarly, we expect that unethical intentions would be weakened in situations where employees are fired for innocuous blogging compared to situations where individuals are terminated for work-related blogging. The following hypothesis based on these rela-tionships is presented:

Hypothesis 6: A situation in which an employee is fi red for innocuous blogging strengthens perceived moral intensity and judgments that fi ring an employee for blogging is unethical and weakens the unethical intention to fi re an employee for blogging.

Method

The following subsections provide an overview of the sampling pro-cedures and the questionnaire used to obtain the data for this investigation.

Sample

Data for this study were initially collected from a convenience sample of students attending se-lect business law, accounting, management, and marketing classes at a me-dium-sized university in the western region of the United States. A self-report survey was used to collect information about students’ ethical attitudes, workplace experiences, and demographic characteristics, and the scenar-ios and measures included on this survey appear in Appendix B. Employed students were asked to complete the questionnaire so that participants were more likely to have the experience required to provide useful re-sponses on the survey. Surveys were distrib-uted during class time and participation was voluntary. In addition, the survey stated that responses were confidential and that ano-nymity would be ensured. A total of 133 completed surveys were returned.

if employers do not

develop blogging

policies, invade

private blogging

Web sites to obtain

information, and/or

criticize employees

for innocuous

blogging about

matters other than

work, employees

who are fired for

such actions may be

considered victims.

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94 HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT, JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2010

Human Resource Management DOI: 10.1002/hrm

Men composed 51.5% of the sample (all numbers reported herein are valid percent-ages) and the participants’ average age was slightly more than 24 years. A majority indi-cated that they had some college education (58%): 21.4% had a bachelor’s degree and

13.7% had some graduate work. Regarding student classification, 11.6% were juniors, 72.1% were seniors, and 16.3% were graduate students. A large majority were also single (73.1%) and white (90%). From an employment standpoint, individuals averaged 2.97 years of experience in their present jobs; 20% were supervi-sors; 18.2% worked full-time; 74.5% worked part-time; and 7.3% were temporary employees. While many industries were represented, 34.5% of respondents’ organiza-tions operated in the services in-dustry, 15.1% in the public/government industry, 14.3% in the education industry, and 13.4% in the wholesale/retail industry. Just more than half (50.8%) of firms had fewer than 100 employ-ees; 24.2% had 100 to 1,000 em-ployees; and 25% had more than 1,000 employees. In terms of busi-ness ethics, individuals had re-ceived an average of 3.35 hours of

ethics training from their organizations in the last year, and half had been given an ethics code that governed work conduct.

Additional data were collected from a convenience sample of business practitioners working for organizations operating in a south-central region of the United States. The same self-report survey was distributed to individuals working in different for-profit, not-for-profit, civic, and educational organi-zations. Each individual was presented with a copy of the survey and asked to complete it, and some individuals were given addi-tional surveys to share with coworkers. All surveys were to be returned in plain, sealed, unmarked envelopes that the researchers provided. In addition, one researcher col-lected some surveys in person and some were

returned to that same researcher through cooperating respondents. Two respondent envelopes were returned in one mailing for-warded through traditional mail. Individuals returning surveys reported the organization for which they worked. The goal was to se-cure approximately 200 surveys from 100 firms, and data collection would end when these benchmarks were met. Ultimately, we collected 269 surveys from roughly 106 organizations; that resulted in a total of 401 usable surveys in the combined sample.

In the practitioner sample, a majority of individuals were women (55.1%), and the participants’ average age was almost 30 years. A majority indicated that they had some college education (67.3%): 16.3% had a bachelor’s degree and 10.6% had a high school diploma. Many individuals were sin-gle (59.9%) and white (60.6%). Employment information was also collected from the practitioners, with individuals reporting an average of 6.15 years of experience in their present jobs. Supervisors composed 20.1% of the sample; 64.8% worked full-time; and 32.6% worked part-time. While many sec-tors were represented, 25.9% of the firms operated in the wholesale/retail industry, 25.1% in the services industry, 12.2% in the education industry; 12.5% indicated “other” or a combination of industries. Almost half (44.3%) of the organizations had fewer than 100 employees; 25.2% had 100 to 1,000 em-ployees; and 30.5% had more than 1,000 employees. Individuals had received an average of 7.10 hours of ethics training from their organizations in the last year, and more than half (62.6%) had been given an ethics code.

Ethics Scenarios and Measures

We queried working students and practitio-ners from many organizations to account for the variety of ethical norms found in differ-ent business departments and companies, consistently with integrative social contracts theory (Donaldson & Dunfee, 1994). This investigation used two ethics scenarios that involved firing an employee for blogging. In addition, a number of previously developed

We queried working

students and

practitioners from

many organizations

to account for the

variety of ethical

norms found in

different business

departments

and companies,

consistently with

integrative social

contracts theory

(Donaldson &

Dunfee, 1994).

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EXPLORING THE ETHICALITY OF FIRING EMPLOYEES WHO BLOG 95

Human Resource Management DOI: 10.1002/hrm

measures were used with these scenarios to evaluate ethical perceptions. In completing the survey, subjects functioned as decision makers to assess whether the blogging em-ployee should have been fired in the two comparative scenarios.

Ethics Scenarios

Many business ethics studies use scenarios to measure the ethical reasoning process (e.g., Barnett & Valentine, 2004; Reidenbach & Robin, 1988, 1990; Weber, 1992). This ap-proach involves presenting questionable work situations and requiring participants to evaluate the nature of the dilemmas with items that tap different components of ethi-cal decision making. Two such vignettes were developed for this study, and each one pre-sented an employee who was terminated for different blogging activities. The first scenario depicted an employee who was fired for maintaining an Internet blog that did not contain any information about the employer (but did contain information that offended the employee’s manager). The second sce-nario depicted an employee who was fired for maintaining an Internet blog that contained “gripes” about work. The goal was to develop similar scenarios with varying levels of ethi-cal issues so that respondents’ ethical reason-ing could be compared and evaluated. Using vignettes to assess ethical problems should also be congruent with the tenets of integra-tive social contracts theory because situa-tional clues are embedded in the situations to prompt ethical reasoning (Donaldson & Dunfee, 1994).

Ethical Judgment

Reidenbach and Robin’s (1988, 1990) four-item “moral equity” measure was used to as-sess whether individuals’ judgments that the questionable actions presented in the sce-narios (or firing an employee for blogging) were unethical. Individuals were asked to evaluate the manager’s action in each sce-nario using 7-point semantic differential scales composed of opposing adjectives con-nected to different facets of ethical judg-

ments. Items were averaged so that higher composite scores represented increased ethical judgments, that is, the belief that firing an employee for blogging was unethi-cal. The measure had a coefficient alpha of .91 in the first scenario and .96 in the second scenario.

Unethical Intention

Individuals’ unethical intentions to fire an employee for blogging were measured with a four-item measure (Barnett, Bass, & Brown, 1996; Barnett & Valentine, 2004). Individuals were asked to indicate the likelihood that they would engage in the manager’s action in each scenario described using 7-point seman-tic differential scales composed of opposing intention-based adjectives. After reverse cod-ing the four items to represent the likelihood that individuals would terminate an em-ployee for blogging, items were averaged so that higher composite scores represented in-creased unethical intentions. The scale had a coefficient alpha of .94 in the first scenario and .96 in the second scenario.

Moral Intensity

Individuals’ perceptions of the moral inten-sity embedded in the issue-based scenarios were measured with six items adapted from past research (Singhapakdi et al., 1999; Sing-hapakdi et al., 1996). Individuals were asked to provide their opinions about the situations described in the scenarios. Items were rated with a 7-point scale anchored by 1 (strongly disagree) and 7 (strongly agree). Item values were averaged so that higher overall compos-ite scores represented increased perceptions of moral intensity.

Because the items were adapted slightly from the original measure to fit the issues this study explored, a principal components factor analysis using varimax rotation was initiated for each scenario to determine the scale’s dimensionality. The results of both analyses indicated that two of the items (2 and 5) loaded on a second factor in both scenarios; therefore, these items were deleted from the factor model. The revised factor

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analytic models indicated that the remaining four items loaded on one factor in each scenario. All factor loadings were above .75; eigenvalues were above a value of 2.40 in each of the models; and more than 61% of the variance was explained. Because principal components analysis can be problematic when trying to uncover identifiable variables (Preacher & MacCallum, 2003), these models were reassessed using maximum likelihood estimation factor analytic procedures, and similar findings were produced. Once again, the results for both scenarios indicated that two of the items (2 and 5) loaded on a second factor; therefore, these items were deleted. The revised models for both scenarios showed that the remaining four items loaded on one factor. All factor loadings were above .64; eigenvalues were above a value of 1.93 in each of the models; and more than 48% of the variance was explained. The coefficient alphas for the measures were .78 in Scenario 1 and .83 in Scenario 2.

Corporate Ethical Values

Hunt et al.’s (1989) five-item scale was used to evaluate individuals’ perceptions of ethical values or context. In particular, items focused on how a company used rewards and punish-ments to prompt ethical conduct and how managers behave from a moral standpoint. The measure, therefore, is effective at captur-ing an organization’s overall approach to eth-ics. Statements were rated with a 7-point scale comprised of 1 (strongly disagree) to 7 (strongly agree), and scores were averaged so that higher values showed increased percep-tions of ethical values. The scale’s coefficient alpha was .71.

Controls

Because ethical reasoning can be affected by many individual characteristics, we included several controls in the analysis. For instance, sex, education, job tenure, and subject type were specified as controls. In addition, based on the results of a principal components fac-tor analysis using varimax rotation, four items were taken from a short social desirabil-

ity scale (Crowne & Marlowe, 1960; Fischer & Fick, 1993; Strahan & Gerbasi, 1972) to con-trol for biased answers (Randall & Fernandes, 1991). Items were rated with a 7-point scale anchored by 1 (strongly disagree) and 7 (strongly agree). The scale’s coefficient alpha was .67.

Analysis

Descriptive statistics were initially evaluated to determine the magnitude and direction of the focal variables. The correlations among the focal variables were then explored to as-certain bivariate relationships. Hierarchical regression analysis was used to test the study’s proposed relationships among moral inten-sity, ethical judgments, unethical intentions, and corporate ethical values. Finally, repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to determine the response differences in the focal variables across the two scenarios.

Results

The variable descriptive statistics and corre-lations for Scenarios 1 and 2 are summarized in Table I. Subject type was related to educa-tion and job tenure in both correlation mod-els, and subject type was related to ethical judgment and moral intensity in Scenario 2. This indicated that these variables differed across the student and practitioner samples. Job tenure was negatively related to unethi-cal intention and positively related to moral intensity in Scenario 2, implying that more senior employees experience reduced unethi-cal intentions and perceive greater moral intensity in situations involving blogging terminations. In both scenarios, perceived moral intensity was associated with an in-creased judgment that terminating an em-ployee for blogging was unethical, with moral intensity associated with a decreased unethical intention to fire an employee for blogging. These results lead one to believe that moral intensity prompts ethical reason-ing when employees are terminated for blogging. Ethical judgment was associated with decreased unethical intention in both scenarios implying that ethical judgments

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EXPLORING THE ETHICALITY OF FIRING EMPLOYEES WHO BLOG 97

Human Resource Management DOI: 10.1002/hrm

TA

BL

E

I

D

escr

iptiv

e St

atis

tics

and

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elat

ion

Ana

lysi

s

Vari

ab

le M

SD

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ari

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(N

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.

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98 HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT, JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2010

Human Resource Management DOI: 10.1002/hrm

result in lower intentions to behave unethi-cally in situations that involve firing an em-ployee for blogging. The perceived corporate ethical values variable was associated with decreased unethical intention in Scenarios 1 and 2 and increased moral intensity in Sce-nario 2. This suggests that an ethical context can enhance ethical reasoning in terminat-ing employees for blogging. Finally, the so-cial desirability measure was related only to ethical judgment (in Scenario 1) and corpo-rate ethical values in both scenarios. It was concluded, therefore, that impression bias was not a serious concern in this study.

The results of the hierarchical regression analysis are presented in Table II. In Scenario 1 with ethical judgment specified as the de-pendent variable, the addition of the control variables did not generate a significant change in R-square. The addition of moral intensity, however, caused a significant change in

R-square, and moral intensity was associated with strengthened ethical judgment. With unethical intention specified as the depen-dent variable, the addition of the control variables once again did not generate a sig-nificant change in R-square. The addition of ethical judgment did cause a significant R-square change in the model, and ethical judgment was negatively related to unethical intention. Finally, adding moral intensity and corporate ethical values to the model in the final step caused another significant change in R-square. Both of these variables were nega-tively related to unethical intention.

In Scenario 2 with ethical judgment speci-fied as the dependent variable, the addition of the control variables did not generate a significant change in R-square; however, sub-ject type was negatively related to ethical judgment. The addition of moral intensity caused a significant R-square change, and

T A B L E I I Hierarchical Regression Analysis

Scenario 1 Scenario 2

Dependent Variables

Ethical

Judgment

Unethical

Intention

Ethical

Judgment

Unethical

Intention

Independent variables � � � �

Sexa .06 –.08 .00 –.05Educationb –.09 .09 –.01 .03Job tenurec –.01 –.01 .08 –.17**Subject typed –.08 .04 –.15** .14*Social desirability –.09 .05 –.06 .02

Step 1 � R 2 .03 .02 .03 .04*Moral intensity .48*** .60***Corporate ethical values .07 .00Ethical judgment –.59*** –.79***

Step 2 � R 2 .24*** .34*** .35*** .60***Moral intensity –.18*** –.09*Corporate ethical values –.10* –.08*

Step 3 � R 2 .03*** .01**Model F 17.75*** 26.79*** 29.04*** 79.90***Adjusted R 2 .25 .37 .36 .65N 351 347 349 348a 1 = male; 2 = female. b 1 = High school diploma; 2 = some college; 3 = bachelor’s degree; 4 = some graduate work; 5 = graduate degree.c In years.d 1 = student; 2 = practitioner.*p < .05, **p < .01, ***p < .001.

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Human Resource Management DOI: 10.1002/hrm

moral intensity was positively related to ethi-cal judgment. With unethical intention speci-fied as the dependent variable, the addition of the control variables did cause a significant change in R-square, and unethical intention was negatively related to job tenure and posi-tively related to subject type. The addition of ethical judgment also generated a significant change in R-square in Step 2 of the model, and ethical judgment was negatively related to unethical intention. Finally, adding moral intensity and corporate ethical values to the regression model in Step 3 caused a signifi-cant R-square change. Both moral intensity and perceived corporate ethical values were negatively related to unethical intention. Taken as a whole, the hierarchical regression results provided adequate statistical support for Hypotheses 1, 2, 3, and 5.

The results of the repeated measures ANOVA models are highlighted in Table III. The mean values for the moral intensity and ethical judgment variables were significantly higher in Scenario 1 compared to the mean values in Scenario 2 (p < .001). Further, the mean value for unethical intention was sig-nificantly lower in Scenario 1 than was the mean value identified in Scenario 2. These findings provided strong support for Hypoth-esis 6, which stated that moral intensity and ethical judgments are strengthened and un-ethical intentions are weakened when an employee is terminated for innocuous blog-ging (compared to work-related blogging). The next section discusses the implications of

these findings, the limitations of this re-search, and some suggestions for future in-quiry directed at blogging, ethics, and human resource management.

Discussion and HR Implications

This study’s findings indicated that the rela-tionships among individuals’ ethical judg-ments, unethical intentions, perceived moral intensity, and perceived ethical values were consistent with past ethics research. A judg-ment that firing an employee for blogging is unethical was negatively related to the un-ethical intention to fire the blogging em-ployee, supporting Hypothesis 1 and further validating the Rest (1986) model of ethical reasoning. In both scenarios, perceptions of moral intensity were positively related to ethical judgments and negatively related to unethical intentions, providing support for Hypotheses 2 and 3 as well as Jones’s (1991) moral intensity framework. Although Hy-pothesis 4 was not supported, perceived ethi-cal values significantly weakened unethical intentions to terminate an employee for blog-ging. This provided support for Hypothesis 5, however, as well as the notion that ethical values enhance facets of ethical reasoning. Our findings also supported Hypothesis 6 be-cause individuals showed strengthened levels of perceived moral intensity and ethical judg-ments and weakened unethical intentions in Scenario 1 (employee fired for innocuous blogging) compared to Scenario 2 (employee

T A B L E I I I Repeated Measures ANOVA

Variable M SD N F Value Partial

eta-squared

Moral intensity Scenario 1 5.43 1.25 395 58.71*** .13 Scenario 2 4.96 1.40 395Ethical judgment Scenario 1 5.86 1.34 383 126.16*** .25 Scenario 2 4.77 1.84 383Unethical intention Scenario 1 2.38 1.58 381 78.99*** .17 Scenario 2 3.20 1.87 381

*** p < .001.

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fired for work-related blogging). This finding is also consistent with Jones (1991), who theorized that situations containing more egregious ethical problems prompt stronger perceptions of moral intensity, perceptions that lead to increased ethical reasoning. Fi-nally, the results overall answered the study’s four research questions.

The study’s findings are noteworthy and contribute to the ethics field in general and the emerging blogging literature in particular. The findings are also consistent with previ-ously developed frameworks of integrative

social contracts, social learning/exchange, ethical reasoning, and moral intensity. The human re-source implications are discussed in the next section.

Implications for Human Resource Professionals

As mentioned, this investigation of the ethical issues related to ter-minating blogging employees is unique because it intersects both work and personal issues. This study therefore enhances under-standing of how individuals per-ceive these boundaries, as well as how such perceptions affect their ethical evaluations of blogging ter-minations. Integrative social con-tracts theory illustrates that firing employees for purely innocuous blogging is likely viewed as more

unethical compared to firing individuals for work-related blogging. This may possibly be due to conflicts between the macrosocial (so-cietal) contract of free speech and the micro-social (organizational) contract of blogging limitations. In summary, subjects corrobo-rated this theoretical contention by respect-ing and supporting the boundary between work and personal endeavors.

The moral intensity construct was also a key factor in this boundary as it pertains to ethical reasoning and innocuous blogging. The results associated with Hypothesis 6 (Table III) provided support for an increase in moral intensity in the innocuous blogging

scenario. This, in turn, strengthened ethical judgment while weakening unethical inten-tions to fire an employee for blogging. As such, more deeply understanding the rela-tionship between moral intensity and ethical reasoning would be beneficial for human re-source professionals.

A key element of the moral intensity scale is magnitude of consequences, defined as “the sum of the harms (or benefits) done to vic-tims (or beneficiaries) of the moral act in question” (Jones, 1991, p. 374). Human re-source managers should be cognizant that relying on lesser disciplinary actions rather than terminations may cause coworkers to view blogging circumstances as more trivial. Employee dissonance is more likely to occur, however, when an employee is terminated, due to the harsh consequences. Human re-source professionals should carefully weigh the magnitude of employees’ consequences and realize that negative perceptions will generally escalate when firings are deemed unethical and unfair. The study’s innocuous blogging scenario demonstrated this process because subjects likely believed that the con-sequences far exceeded the nature of the questionable blogging actions. Employees who remain with the firm will likely perceive that terminating innocuous blogging em-ployees, and to a lesser extent work-related bloggers, constitutes a breach in trust of the implied microsocial contract of employment (Donaldson & Dunfee, 1994). This could det-rimentally impact morale and increase turn-over intentions. Essentially, an organization that terminates individuals for innocuous blogging may experience employee back-lash.

Managing Organizational Ethics

Our results suggest that perceived ethical val-ues and the environments that advance these values are negatively associated with unethi-cal intentions to fire blogging employees. Integrative social contracts theory supports the importance of these values and suggests that employees are affected by an implied microsocial contract (Donaldson & Dunfee, 1994). Consistent with the macrosocial

Human resource

professionals should

carefully weigh

the magnitude

of employees’

consequences and

realize that negative

perceptions will

generally escalate

when firings are

deemed unethical

and unfair.

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contract containing universal hypernorms, the microsocial contract is based on the company’s accepted ethical norms (Donald-son & Dunfee, 1994). Human resource managers should therefore manage ethics by establishing norms consistent with ethical “best practices.” For example, human re-source professionals may enhance the organi-zation’s ethical culture with programs and written documents that promote and enforce ethics codes and provide ethics training to employees (see, e.g., Chen, Sawyers, & Wil-liams, 1997; Sims, 1991; Sims & Keon, 1999; Trevino & Nelson, 2007; White & Lam, 2000).

Blogging-based ethical issues often stem from attitudinal and communication break-downs between management and personnel. Human resource professionals should there-fore routinely monitor employees’ job atti-tudes and their perceptions of ethical values as blogging policies are developed and en-forced. Fair blogging practices should ideally encourage employees to view the company more positively. Further, because such per-ceptions are driven by mutual trust that minimizes risk of “employment-at-will” ethi-cal indiscretions, employees’ ethical reason-ing should be enhanced. An ethical context should also benefit the organization because ethical values strengthen workplace morale (Podsakoff, MacKenzie, Paine, & Bacharach, 2000), heighten employee work motivation, enhance work attitudes (Hunt et al., 1989; Martins, Eddleston, & Veiga, 2002), and re-duce turnover intentions (Igbaria, 1991). If employees perceive that their company func-tions in a fair and just manner (Cropanzano, Byne, Bobocel, & Rupp, 2001), they should be less likely to complain about the firm in their blogs and more inclined to shape their beliefs and behaviors to fit ethical standards (Sims, 1991).

Developing Blogging Standards

The results of the study suggest that organiza-tions may be more successful at managing employee blogging by developing human re-source standards for blogging and by encour-aging employees to focus on social contracts

that the employment context creates. Stan-dards governing such actions should clearly identify the types of blogging activities that are acceptable, and standards should be conveyed to employees through training to strengthen individuals’ moral obligation to act according to acceptable codes of conduct while employed with the organization. Indeed, the te-nets of integrative social contracts theory indicate that such employ-ment contracts include socially implied standards of “consent and exit,” whereby an employee who chooses to remain with a firm is, in fact, “consenting” to its stan-dards and rules through contin-ued association (Donaldson & Dunfee, 1994, p. 263). Employees are therefore “bound ethically to live by the standards in place” if they choose not to leave their current work situations (Donald-son & Dunfee, 1994, p. 263).

Managers should consider re-vising employee handbooks, em-ployee training and orientation procedures, and ethics codes to include standards and expecta-tions pertaining to both innocu-ous and work-related employee blogging. Firms should also con-sider documenting disciplinary procedures in an employee hand-book and provide unethical blog-ging-related examples that would constitute grounds or “just cause” for formal dismissal procedures. Human resource professionals should be cautious, however, to ensure that employees consider such standards fair.

Limitations and Future Research

Although this exploratory study significantly contributes to the literatures addressing empirical ethics and blogging, some limita-tions need to be addressed. The data were collected exclusively using a self-report questionnaire, which increases the possibility of common method bias. We attempted,

Standards governing

such actions should

clearly identify the

types of blogging

activities that are

acceptable, and

standards should

be conveyed

to employees

through training

to strengthen

individuals’ moral

obligation to act

according to

acceptable codes

of conduct while

employed with the

organization.

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however, to minimize same-source bias and strengthen external validity by using both working student and practitioner samples. Also, although we controlled for social desir-ability, we did not control for other factors such as individual dispositions and attitudes. For example, individuals who agreed to par-ticipate in the study could have been rela-tively conscientious or altruistic, increasing the likelihood of self-selection bias. In addi-tion, the method of collecting the two convenience samples did not permit testing nonresponse bias. Furthermore, generalizing the results to other types of employees and regions should be limited, and the cross-sectional nature of the study does not permit any in-depth discussions of causality.

Future research should investigate ethical issues pertaining to unique blogging scenarios from specific business disciplines such as management, marketing, finance, and ac-counting in order to compare and contrast subject perceptions. These studies should also use demographically diverse subject samples. Also, because this study focused on the sec-ond and third steps of Rest’s (1986) model, future research should investigate how other components of ethical reasoning are associ-ated in different blogging situations. By more fully investigating the ethical issues associ-ated with employee blogging, human resource professionals should be able to develop more appropriate personnel policies that facilitate positive work performance. Future research may also focus on the various dimensions of

moral intensity (e.g., social consensus and magnitude of consequences) in relation to blogging-related ethical reasoning.

Notes

1. Ethical judgments include comprehensive evalua-

tions of justice, fairness, and rightness/wrongness,

while unethical intentions involve future plans to

behave inappropriately based on unethical evalua-

tions. Moral intensity includes issue contingencies

found in a situation that influence decision making.

2. Based on past work, ethical judgment and ethical

intentions are positively related. The ethical inten-

tions variable, however, was reverse-coded in this

study to develop more coherent hypotheses. An

unethical intention to fire an employee for blogging

should therefore be negatively related to ethical

judgment, moral intensity, and ethical values as

discussed in the literature review.

3. Moral intensity dimensions: 1. Magnitude of conse-

quences (severity of outcomes); 2. Social consensus

(agreement about ethicality); 3. Probability of effect

(likelihood of impact); 4. Temporal immediacy (time

related to outcomes); 5. Proximity (closeness to

those affected); 6. Concentration of effect (strong

outcomes for those affected).

Acknowledgments

The authors thank Karen Page, Grant Lindstrom, Linda Kidwell, Stacey Baker, and Terri Rittenburg of the University of Wyoming for their assistance with collecting data for this study, as well as Asia Peek for her work on data coding.

SEAN VALENTINE (DBA, Louisiana Tech University) is professor of management in the College of Business and Public Administration at the University of North Dakota. His research and teaching interests include business ethics, human resource management, and organizational culture. His work has appeared in journals such as Human Relations, Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management, Journal of Business Research, Behav-ioral Research in Accounting, and Journal of Business Ethics.

GARY M. FLEISCHMAN (Ph.D., Texas Tech University) is the McGee, Hearne, and Paiz Faculty Scholar in Accounting in the College of Business at the University of Wyoming. His research and teaching interests include business ethics and tax policy. His work has appeared in journals such as Behavioral Research in Accounting, Research on Profes-sional Responsibility and Ethics in Accounting, the International Journal of Accounting, and Journal of Business Ethics.

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ROBERT SPRAGUE (JD, University of Denver) is assistant professor in the College of Business at the University of Wyoming, where he teaches law for managers, business law for entrepreneurs, and commercial law courses. Professor Sprague has published articles analyzing legal issues associated with fi ring employees for blogging, employers’ use of online information when making hiring decisions, workplace surveillance, and employee privacy.

LYNN GODKIN (Ph.D., University of North Texas) is professor of management in the Col-lege of Business at Lamar University. His research and teaching interests include business ethics, organizational learning, and economic development. He has published in journals such as Journal of Business Ethics, Health Care Management Review, Competitiveness Review, Psychological Reports, and Employee Responsibilities and Rights Journal.

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A P P E N D I X A Blogging-Related Dismissals

Reference Event Resulting Action

Armour, 2005 Heather Armstrong, a Web designer, posted comments about the workplace on her personal blog, including comments regarding the offi ce Christmas party.

Dismissal

Armour, 2005 A Wells Fargo employee blog made fun of some coworkers on his blog.

Dismissal

Blachman, 2005 Nadine Haobsh, an associate beauty editor at Ladies’ Home Journal, who was about to resign and take a job at Seventeen, blogged about work.

Dismissed from Ladies’ Home Journal; employment offer from Seventeen rescinded

Brown, 2006 A professor at DeVry University criticized the school on her blog.

Dismissal

Foley, 2005 Mark Jen started his own blog soon after starting work for Google. Shortly thereafter, he posted his impressions of a Google sales meeting.

Dismissal

Hansen, 2005 A contractor working for Microsoft took pictures of Apple computers being delivered to the Microsoft campus and posted the pictures on his blog.

Dismissal

Hong, 2007 Mark Pilgrim’s supervisor discovered Pilgrim’s personal blog, which included posts regarding Pilgrim’s past addictions; the supervisor demanded that Pilgrim take down the blog and Pilgrim refused.

Dismissal

Joyce, 2005 Rachel Mosteller posted comments on her blog critical of her employer (including the statement “I really hate my place of employment”); Mosteller used a pseudonym, did not name her company or where it was based, and did not name her coworkers.

Dismissal

Olsen, 2004 Joyce Park, a Web developer for Friendster, a company “known for breaking new ground in online social networking and promoting self-expression among peers,” posted three publicly available items about work on her blog, Troutgirl.

Dismissal

Pham, 2005 A Starbucks supervisor used an anonymous blog to talk with family/friends and to vent frustration about personal life/work; he complained on his blog when a manager would not let him go home because of an illness.

Dismissal

Simonetti, 2004 A Delta Airlines fl ight attendant published pictures of herself (in relatively risqué poses) in her uniform aboard a Delta plane.

Dismissal

Wenner, 2002 A reporter at the Houston Chronicle posted information about family life and local politicians on his personal blog.

Dismissal

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A P P E N D I X B Scenarios and Measures

Scenario 1

Heather maintains an Internet blog (an online diary) in which she writes about a number of topics, mostly politics, but never work. A coworker knows about Heather’s blog and tells Heather’s manager about the situation. Heather’s manager reads the blog and is offended by some of the comments.

Action: The manager fires Heather because of the Internet blog.

Scenario 2

Heather maintains an Internet blog (an online diary) in which she writes about a number of topics, mostly politics. Heather occasionally “gripes” about work on her blog (e.g., “The guy in the cubicle next to me is a real jerk”). Heather uses a pseudonym on the blog and has never identified her employer, let alone what industry or city she works in. A coworker knows about Heather’s blog and tells Heather’s manager about the situation. Heather’s boss is upset that she has written about work on her blog.

Action: The manager fires Heather because of the Internet blog.

Ethical Judgment

Next is a set of adjectives that allow you to evaluate the manager’s action described in the situation.

Fair __:__:__:__:__:__:__ Unfair

Just __:__:__:__:__:__:__ Unjust

Morally right __:__:__:__:__:__:__ Not morally right

Acceptable to my family __:__:__:__:__:__:__ Unacceptable to my family

Unethical Intention

How likely is it you would engage in the manager’s action described in the situation?

Likely __:__:__:__:__:__:__ Unlikely

Probable __:__:__:__:__:__:__ Improbable

Possible __:__:__:__:__:__:__ Impossible

Defi nitely would __:__:__:__:__:__:__ Defi nitely would not(continued)

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Moral Intensity

Next is a series of statements that describe the situation.

The overall harm (if any) of the manager’s action is very small.

Most people agree that the manager’s action is wrong.

There is a very small likelihood that the manager’s action will actually cause harm.

The manager’s action will not cause any harm in the immediate future.

If the manager and Heather are personal friends, the manager’s action is wrong.

The manager’s actions will harm very few people (if any).

Corporate Ethical Values

Managers in my organization often engage in behaviors that I consider to be unethical.

In order to succeed in my organization, it is often necessary to compromise one’s ethics.

Top management in my organization has let it be known in no uncertain terms that unethical behaviors will not be tolerated.

If a manager in my organization is discovered to have engaged in unethical behavior that results primarily in personal gain (rather than organizational gain), he or she will be promptly reprimanded.

If a manager in my organization is discovered to have engaged in unethical behavior that results primarily in organizational gain (rather than personal gain), he or she will be promptly reprimanded.

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