The Role of Organisational Factors and Corporate Governance in Business Ethics Practices

Abstract

The objective of this study is to analyse the influence of specific organisational and corporate governance factors on the implementation of ethical practices in the corporate field. We study the effect of corporate size, leverage and profitability as organisational drivers that may encourage the undertaking of the practices of business ethics. We also examine the impact of the size, activity and level of independence of the board of directors as potential factors that promote an ethical climate. Based on a broad sample of companies from 29 countries, we propose a Tobit model for panel data. Our findings stress the relevance of corporate size as a driver promoting ethical practices as well as the importance of the board of directors and its features of size, activity and independence as key factors in the design and implementation of an ethical climate.