The perception of business ethics in the public and private sectors: A study of portuguese social representations

• Author(s): Pais, Leonor ; Mónico, Lisete ; Sampaio, Bárbara ; Gijón Francis, Álvaro ; Santos, Nuno Rebelo dos ; Ferraro, Tânia
• Date: 2023
• Persistent ID: Pais, L., Mónico, L., Sampaio, B., Ferraro, T., Gijón Francis, A., & Santos, N. R. (2022). The perception of business ethics in the public and private sectors: A study of portuguese social representations. Trends in Psychology, (Published online: 31 march 2022), 1-22. https://doi.org/10.1007/s43076-022-00173-8. Repositório Institucional UPT. http://hdl.handle.net/11328/4972
• Origin: Repositório da Universidade Portucalense
• Subject(s): Business ethics; Public and private sectors; Social representations; EVOC software
• Document Type: Journal article
• Language: English

Description

Over the years, people have become more aware of how companies influence their lives, communities, and the environment. This influence has led to a growing interest and a vast and distinct literature in business ethics. Despite the diversity of themes concerning business ethics, the literature concerning social representations of business ethics in public and private sectors is scarce. This article explores the differences and similarities of Portuguese social representation between two business sectors (public and private). A free evocations test was applied for that purpose, and the answers were analyzed using EVOC software. The results interpreted based on Abric’s theory of the central nucleus showed a central core organized around the concept of “respect” in the two business sectors and “responsibility,” “honesty,” “justice,” “code of conduct,” “confidentiality,” and “ethic” in the central core of the private sector.