(Dis)honesty in Management

Manifestations and Consequences

This volume concentrates on different forms of honesty and dishonesty in management and their consequences for managers, firms and society. Honesty can be defined as the refusal to pretend that facts of reality are other than what they are, while dishonesty - including lying, stealing, cheating, distortion, concealing of important information, failing to fulfil promises, and abruptly abandoning a business relationship - presents its opposite. Dishonesty can be blatant, massive, strong and active, or subtle, minimal, weak and passive. The volume is divided into four parts. The contributions of the first part concern the nature of (dis)honesty in management. The second part addresses (dis)honesty in public sector management and finance. The third part focuses on (dis)honesty in firm management in Europe and Africa, while the last part presents evidence on (dis)honesty in management in Asia and America. The authors conclude that the understanding of (dis)honesty and (un)ethical behavior differs in different cultural, societal and organizational contexts; moreover, it is not always easy to discover it. Dishonesty may lead to unfavorable consequences for the dishonest and, quite often, also for the honest party, but, sometimes dishonesty may pay off for the dishonest party in the short term. This volume provides new theoretical, managerial and policy insights in the field of management research and it should interest scholars, managers and policy-makers, but also others studying or discussing these issues or having to decide if they should act dishonestly or not.