Computer-mediated group influence on ethical behavior

Authors:
Lori N. K. Leonard;Russell Haines
Affiliations:
Management Information Systems Department, College of Business Administration, University of Tulsa, 600 S. College Ave., Tulsa, OK 74104, United States;Department of Information Technology and Decision Sciences, 2023 Constant Hall, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, VA 23529, United States
Venue:
Computers in Human Behavior
Year:
2007

Citing 7
Cited 1

Evaluating ethical decision making and computer use

Communications of the ACM
How men and women view ethics

Communications of the ACM
Modeling IT ethics: a study in situational ethics

MIS Quarterly
Polarization and persuasive argumentation: a study of decision making in group settings

MIS Quarterly
Copyright, piracy, privacy, and security issues: acceptable or unacceptable actions for end users?

Journal of End User Computing
What influences IT ethical behavior intentions: planned behavior, reasoned action, perceived importance, or individual characteristics?

Information and Management
1001 Unanswered research questions in GSS

Journal of Management Information Systems

College Students, Piracy, and Ethics: Is there a Teachable Moment?

International Journal of Technoethics

Quantified Score

Hi-index	0.00

Visualization

Abstract

Drawing on previous research in ethical behavior in information technology, this study examines the effects of group discussion, using virtual teams, on an individual's intention to behave ethically/unethically. It was hypothesized that behavioral intention would be influenced by an individual's attitude (toward ethical behavior), personal normative beliefs, ego strength, locus of control, perceived importance, gender and the scenario, and that computer-mediated group discussion would impact an individual's ethical behavioral intention. This was tested through an experiment using five different ethical scenarios involving information technology. The results show that for two of the five scenarios, individual behavioral intention was significantly more unethical after computer-mediated group discussion than before, while for one scenario, individual behavioral intention was significantly more ethical after computer-mediated group discussion than before. The results of this study may help organizations to develop realistic training programs for IT professionals that account for changes in employee's personal ethical models after interacting with others.