Managers' attitudes about firm responsibilities

A mail survey was conducted in order to investigate whether the importance a manager attaches to corporate ethical and legal responsibilities varies according to personality characteristics, demographic variables, or the perceived moral climates in the manager's firm. Respondents were middle- and lower-level managers in 112 for-profit businesses located throughout the United States. As expected, attitudes about corporate ethical responsibility were significantly related to (1) the individual's capacity for empathy and (2) a perceived caring climate in the firm; attitudes about corporate legal responsibility were significantly related to (1) the individual's hierarchical position and (2) an organizational climate perceived to be supportive of law.Data collection for this research was subsidized by the Old Dominion University Research Foundation and the ODU College of Business and Public Administration Bureau of Research.