Entrepreneurial ethics : A behavioral approach to ethical dilemmas in entrepreneurship

This dissertation investigates entrepreneurial ethics – a behavioral approach to ethical dilemmas in entrepreneurship. Specifically, the thesis investigates how the individual entrepreneurial decision-maker perceives and interprets conflicting ethical cues surrounding their work, and how that cognitive processing translates into entrepreneurial action and outcomes. Prior research on ethics in entrepreneurship has largely examined one ethical implication at a time (e.g., consequences, legality, or norm adherence) to propose what constitutes ethical and unethical entrepreneurial action; what ethics is. In contrast, this dissertation shifts focus to what ethics does.Across four independent research papers (one qualitative case study, two in-depth conceptual studies, and one experimental study), this thesis advances a nuanced and contextualized understanding of unethical entrepreneurial action by highlighting psychological and situational factors that can constrain ethical awareness and conduct. Drawing on rich literatures from entrepreneurship, behavioral (business) ethics, and psychology, the dissertation offers more empathetic explanations for how the entrepreneurial decision-maker can sometimes act against their own and broader moral standards. The resulting insights lay a foundation for future empirical inquiry into entrepreneurial ethics, as well as for developing preventive and corrective strategies that promote responsible entrepreneurial practice.