A Longitudinal and Contextual Analysis of Media Representation of Business Ethics

Abstract:     
Purpose: This paper presents an analysis of media representations of business ethics within 62 international newspapers to explore the longitudinal and contextual evolution of business ethics and associated terminology. Levels of coverage and contextual analysis of the content of the articles are used as surrogate measures of the penetration of business ethics concepts into society.

Design/Methodology/Approach: A text mining application based on two samples of data: analysis of 62 international newspapers from 1990-2008; analysis of the content of two samples of articles containing the term business ethics (comprising of 100 newspaper articles spread over an 18-year period from a sample of US and UK newspapers).

Findings: The paper demonstrates increased coverage of sustainability topics within the media over the last 18 years associated with events such as the Rio Summit. Whilst some peaks are seen associated with business ethics scandals, the overall coverage remains at a steady state. There is little apparent use in the media on concepts such as corporate citizenship. The academic community and company ethical codes appear to adopt a wider definition of business ethics more akin to those associated with sustainability, in comparison with the focus taken by the media especially in the US. Coverage demonstrates clear regional bias and contextual analysis of the content of the articles in the UK and US also shows interesting parallels and divergences in the contextual representation of business ethics in the media.

Research limitations/implications: The non-OECD sample is limited due to discrepancies in coverage. More detailed analysis is needed in future work to explore the differences in regional coverage and more detailed analysis of the events triggering the peaks in coverage across the 18-year timeline.

Practical Implications: This study provides insights into the conceptualisation of business ethics in different regions and over time. This is of value to those working in this field and operating in different regional contexts.

Originality/value: A promising avenue to explore how the evolution of sustainability issues including business ethics can be tracked within a societal context.

Number of Pages in PDF File: 18

Keywords: business ethics, longitudinal, regional, sustainability

Accepted Paper Series