Indifference or obedience? Business firms as democratic hybrids.

Abstract

To the perennial question of why and how people obey, organizational and political theories usually offer a restricted vision mainly based on interpersonal power processes and organizational control mechanisms. Although such theories are useful, the recent evolution of business organizations toward post-bureaucratic models means they must be combined with another dimension that we call 'moral obedience'. In this article, we suggest that morality is developing in managerial strategies as business contexts become more and more fragile, uncertain and threatened.