Do corporate codes of ethics truly shape behavior, or are they merely symbolic gestures? This book attempts to delivers a definitive answer, combining decades of scholarly research with practical insights for business leaders and academics. Drawing on award-winning studies published in the Journal of Business Ethics and enriched with real-world examples from Enron, WorldCom, Tesla, and Johnson & Johnson, the book explores the effectiveness of codes, the mechanisms that make them work, and the pitfalls that can lead to their failure.

The volume offers a rigorous analysis of the content, implementation, and the administration of corporate codes of ethics, while providing frameworks for building ethical corporate cultures. It also examines global compliance trends shaped by U.S. Federal Sentencing Guidelines, Sarbanes-Oxley, and other international standards.

Essential reading for scholars and MBA students in ethics, governance, and compliance, this book bridges theory and practice to address one of the most pressing questions in modern business: how to turn ethical principles into organizational reality.

Mark S. Schwartz is Associate Professor of Business Ethics in the Management Area at the School of Administrative Studies at York University in Toronto, Canada. He has authored or edited eight books including Business Ethics: An Ethical Decision-Making Approach (2017), Corporate Social Responsibility: An Ethical Approach (2011), and the co-edited textbook Business Ethics: Readings and Cases in Corporate Morality (2014).