Ethical rule violations

Just as it is important in personal settings, cooperation with others is common and beneficial in the workplace. Working with colleagues allows all team members to benefit and prosper from the outcomes, gaining from one another's strengths.

However, experience reveals that when people work in groups or partnerships as opposed to on their own, they are more likely to participate in acts that are dishonest. Though the opposite would seem true, this is the case because it is easier to boost one's own profit while justifying lying when sharing profit.

BEHAV-ETHICS (From cooperation to dishonesty: How concern for others can lead to unethical behavior) is an EU-funded project exploring this topic. As such, it looks at whether and in what ways cooperation heightens concern of partner outcomes, which can lead to rule bending.

Experimental social psychological and behavioural economic patterns were used to test the model. Pilot data was built and results were published. They show that when people bond, they are more likely to lie to benefit their group. Furthermore, it was found that when people have to work together, and thus share rule violations, they likely lie most when all related parties share the profits equally.

Findings can have important practical implications for the public and in professional organisations.