Promoting ethical behaviour and preventing wrongdoing in organisations: A rapid evidence assessment

Abstract

This Rapid Evidence Assessment (REA), based on 57 studies carried out in policing and other professions, aimed to identify interventions, mechanisms and levers that might encourage ethical behaviour and prevent wrongdoing in organisations. Taken together, the evidence raises a number of possibilities for organisations for action, though no readymade single solution was identified. The importance of strong and effective leadership – such as leaders being open, acting as role models, and also being ‘firm’ in terms of setting and enforcing standards – was highlighted as encouraging ethical behaviour, as well as being an essential ingredient for the successful implementation of interventions. Promising interventions tended to be broadly preventive or remedial in their approach, rather than focused on apprehending and disciplining those responsible for wrongdoing.