Managerial Ethical Legibility

Managerial Ethical Legibility (MEL) is a foundational theoretical construct that explains how managerial intent, ethical coherence, and meaning become perceptible and interpretable to organizational actors under conditions of information asymmetry. MEL specifies ethical legibility as a constitutive condition of governance, leadership, and coordination, clarifying why formally compliant managerial actions can nonetheless produce trust erosion, reputational harm, or relational breakdown. This project presents MEL as a standalone conceptual framework intended to support subsequent theory development, empirical investigation, and applied organizational research.