As business organisations, especially Multinational Enterprises (MNEs) grow through internationalisation, partnerships, mergers and acquisitions, among many, their activities (market share, influence, production, etc.) also increase. Such expansion also increases the chances for these organisations to engage in corruption, mostly in the developing economies such as Nigeria, Pakistan, Cambodia. Although code of conduct (COC) has been investigated in such relative areas as its content and quality, its effectiveness, and its effect on organisational performance, no study to date has looked at its effect on MNEs’ employees’ perception of corruption. This gap (COC effect on MNEs employees’ perception of corruption) legitimises the urgency, novelty, and importance of this research. A qualitative method is adopted to address the research question: How does MNEs' code of conduct affect their employees’ perception of corruption, and how does the former also affect the employees’ behaviour and commitment? Semi-structured interviews are employed to interview 20 employees of the five foreign MNEs operating in the Nigerian oil and gas sector, comprising three from MNE A, two from MNE B, two from MNE C, five from MNE D and eight from MNE E. MNEs’ employees are chosen due to the MNEs' economic impact and involvement in the Nigerian oil sector as well as previous corruption scandals involving them. Employees at different hierarchical levels: country director, managers, assistant managers, head government relations, supervisors, and staff, among others, are chosen to capture the employees’ perception of corruption across the spectrum. Participants were recruited through gatekeepers and snowballing. Thematic inductive analysis is employed as an analytical tool to find themes and patterns within the dataset. This research findings suggest that MNE employees perceive corruption as an unacceptable behaviour due to the code of conduct consequence management (sanctions, queries, termination of contract, etc.) policy. Additionally, employees perceive corruption as unethical due to COC strictness on corruption. More so, employees perceive corruption as a hindrance to the progress of the Nigerian state due to the inequality that it creates. However, as revealed by the findings of this study, the societal impact of the COC would be limited due to the endemic nature of corruption in Nigeria. It also suggests that a code of conduct gives employees the opportunity to grow ethically and perform their duties in ways that reflect professionalism (integrity, fairness, self-control, commitment, etc.) in terms of relationships with work colleagues and other stakeholders. The findings further suggest that MNEs ignore the local cultural norms of their host nations by using their economic power advantage (as MNEs’ employees are paid handsomely, they would rather adhere to the COC and keep their jobs, than adhere to their cultural norms and lose their jobs) and their code of conduct policies to impose ‘moral colonialism’ on them. Finally, the code of conduct creates a state of moral dilemma for the employees with certain cultural norms, mostly in the area of gift giving.Theoretical contributions include a new concept to academic knowledge in business and management called ‘covert commitment’ where an individual exhibits a visible level of commitment such as high performance, adherence to the code of conduct, active engagement in the group’s activities, among others, but with a hidden agenda. As the COC transcends and positively influences the employees' behaviours within their individual family settings, this study also contributes to academic knowledge by adding a new concept which it termed 'mini code of conduct', in terms of how the family is organised, managed, and controlled by the parents, or those that have the responsibility of managing the occupants of the home. In terms of practical implications, the findings of this research suggest that the foreign MNEs COC does not make allowances for cultural variations. This research therefore suggests that foreign MNEs need to find ways to accommodate the cultural norms of their host nations, which may be done by adjusting their COC policies. Additionally, the Nigerian executives and policymakers could learn from the positive effect of COC on MNE employees’ behaviours and commitment (in terms of professionalism, honesty, transparency, adherence, etc.) and adopt the attitude of not only shunning corruption, obeying their laws (in terms of no sacred cows), but also being transparent, professional, and honest to their citizens. Such an attitude would encourage its citizenry to change their behaviours towards corruption. Key words: Code of Conduct, Corruption, Cultural Corruption, Covert Commitment, Employee’s Commitment, MNEs, Consequence Management, Employee’s Behaviour.
| Date of Award | 7 Nov 2024 |
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| Original language | English |
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| Supervisor | Claudio De Mattos (Main Supervisor) & Honglan Yu (Co-Supervisor) |
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