The holistic principles of scenario planning to reframe organizational ethical cultureA multicase study approach

Resumen

Through three published studies, this thesis relies on a systemic and futures thinking analysis for organizational ethical culture, which is viewed as a complex adaptive system. The influence of external driving forces in organizational dynamics is crucial to understand the adaptability of ethical culture, which should act upon evolving societal needs. For this, scenario planning is applied due to its usefulness to diagnose external disruptions, map individual and collective past, present, and future events, and to the value it gives to understanding the interrelationships and interdependencies that emanate from within an existing ethical system towards an emerging ethical system. This thesis aims to contribute to the practice of scenario planning and theory of organizational and futures studies, as it proposes scenario planning as a complementary tool for ethical assessment and a diagnostic tool for ethical culture. It also seeks to encourage companies and practitioners to associate scenario planning with ethical culture evaluation, as it applies a qualitative multilevel analysis i.e., a systemic view of interconnections among individual, group, organizational and industry dynamics. Furthermore, the thesis aims to contribute to research and practice by understanding why some corporations would be open while others would be reluctant to apply scenario planning for ethical deliberation. It also aims to contribute to the studies of organizational ethical culture with systems thinking, as ethical culture is a composite of interdependent and relational properties, which should encourage executives to recognize the importance of the effect of their moral agency. Finally, it wishes that the findings contribute to both electric utility multinationals that participated in the studies, for their internal organizational use and iterative review. The extensive analysis of the data can provide insights for these multinationals to reinterpret company corporate policies and initiatives for ethical culture and strategies for sustainability.