Organizational Codes of Ethics: Concepts, Methods and Challenges

Code of ethics is recognized as one of the most significant tools in preventing unethical organizational behaviors and satisfying the needs of both internal and external organizational stakeholders. The purpose of this study is to focus on previous studies and provide a systematic review of the related literature published from 1977 to 2012 in academic journals in order to determine the gaps, strengths and weaknesses of these studies. To achieve this end we examined the existing literature in terms of the publication trends, their purpose of studies, the focus of themes and contents, methodologies and findings as well as their contribution and managerial implication. The findings of this paper suggest that in order to improving the literature upon the organizational code of ethics worldwide, comparative and cross-cultural studies with diverse use of statistical samples as well as qualitative methods has to be emphasized.