The integration of business ethics and organisational strategy : a qualitative study of commercial banks in South Africa

Abstract

Within the South African economy, financial institutions have a particular responsibility to act ethically because of their responsibility to safeguard economic and financial stability. This study, using a strategy-as-practice perspective, investigates how South African commercial banks integrate organisational strategy and business ethics within regulatory and governance requirements set for public companies. A qualitative research approach was applied based on interviews with company secretaries and ethics officers from commercial banks as well as a review of integrated annual reports. A narrative thematic analysis of the reviewed content of integrated annual reports as well as semi-structured interviews were conducted, and analyses compared. The results of the study show that regulatory compliance with Corporate Governance guidelines contained in the King IV reports is a priority for financial institutions and that different levels of the modes of ethics management are evident in the integration of organisational strategy and business ethics in practice. This research contributes to the body of knowledge by developing and testing a comprehensive theoretical framework that integrates ethics and strategy. It furthermore contributes by describing if and how strategy and ethics are integrated in the specific context of commercial banks.