Organizational reintegration and trust repair after an integrity violation: A case study

Gillespie, N.; Dietz, G.; Lockey, S.

doi:10.5840/beq2014437

Organizational reintegration and trust repair after an integrity violation: A case study

Gillespie, N.; Dietz, G.; Lockey, S.

Authors

N. Gillespie

G. Dietz

S. Lockey

Abstract

This paper presents a holistic, contextualised case study of reintegration and trust repair at a UK utilities firm in the wake of its fraud and data manipulation scandal. Drawing upon conceptual frameworks of reintegration and organizational trust repair, we analyze the decisions and actions taken by the company in its efforts to restore trust with its stakeholders. The analysis reveals seven themes on the merits of proposed approaches for reintegration after an integrity violation (including open investigations, accurate explanations, apologies, penance, and systemic reforms), and novel insights on the role of organizational identity, “changing of the guard” and cultural reforms alongside procedural modifications. The case further supports the dynamic nature of stakeholder salience across the reintegration process. The study both supports propositions from existing frameworks and suggests novel theoretical extensions for future research.

Citation

Gillespie, N., Dietz, G., & Lockey, S. (2014). Organizational reintegration and trust repair after an integrity violation: A case study. Business Ethics Quarterly, 24(3), 371-410. https://doi.org/10.5840/beq2014437

Journal Article Type	Article
Publication Date	Jul 1, 2014
Deposit Date	Nov 19, 2014
Publicly Available Date	Nov 19, 2014
Journal	Business Ethics Quarterly
Print ISSN	1052-150X
Electronic ISSN	2153-3326
Publisher	Cambridge University Press
Peer Reviewed	Peer Reviewed
Volume	24
Issue	3
Pages	371-410
DOI	https://doi.org/10.5840/beq2014437
Keywords	Reintegration, Trust repair, Case study, Organizational fraud, Stakeholders.
Public URL	https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1441748

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Copyright Statement
© Copyright Society for Business Ethics 2014. This paper has been published in a revised form, subsequent to editorial input by Cambridge University Press in 'Business Ethics Quarterly' (24: 03 (2014) 371-410) http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayJournal?jid=BEQ