Using Persuasive Communication to Foster Appropriaton of Code of Ethics Standards by an Organization's Employees

Scientific research has generated a substantial corpus of knowledge on nearly all facets of ethics, governance and sound management in public and private organizations. However, there has been little research into the role of communication as a factor that enables an effective link between what some call ethical infrastructures, like a code of ethics, and ethical behaviour or judgement. The purpose of the study was to establish whether the use of persuasive communication strategies could foster appropriation of code of ethics standards by an organization’s employees. To measure the effect of persuasive communication on appropriation, we created three experimental conditions that drew on the variables in Cialdini’s persuasion model. The methodology used was quantitative and experimental. A total of 119 employees participated in the study. Our results show that the persuasion strategies tested have a statistically significant impact on cognitive appropriation, but not on behavioural appropriation.