Dr. Sean Valentine presented at the 2023 Key West International Academic Conference

Dr. Sean Valentine, Chair and Professor of Management in The Middleton School of Entrepreneurship & Management presented his paper at the 2023 Key West International Academic Conference on Business, Economics, Finance and Accounting (January 7-8, 2023), organized by the International Association of Applied Business Research.

Title: “Admonishing Ethics Through a Stigmatization of Goodness”

Authors: Robert Giacalone (Texas State University), Sean Valentine (University of North Dakota), and Gary Fleischman (Texas Tech University)

Abstract: Based on a traditionalist view, moral stigmatization occurs when social and organizational institutions support ethical members and stigmatize those who are unethical with a blemished character. However, employees who stand by their ethical values may pose a threat to the unethical status quo, leading to stigmatization because of their ethical identities, underscoring a proposed stigmatization of goodness view. Drawing from ethical impact theory, this inference study explored the degree to which business professionals’ ethical and unethical (i.e., econophonic/potensiphonic) characteristics were related to perceived moral disparagement in the workplace; negative affectivity, reflecting individual ill-being, was also explored as a potential outcome. The results were surprisingly mixed, supporting elements of both the proposed stigmatization of goodness and alternate traditionalist views. Various cognitive and behavioral tendencies may influence businesspersons’ perceived stigmatization, and firms should develop ethical workplaces that encourage ethical preferences and behaviors.