Acceptable finger pointing: How evaluators judge the ethicality of blame shifting

Abstract

Research shows how blame shifting deemed unethical by evaluators leads to a damaging reputational backlash. Yet, scholars have not determined how evaluators judge if blame-shifting messages are ethical. To fill this gap, we develop a conceptual model of evaluators' judgments of blame-shifting ethicality, integrating insights from ethical decision-making and the ethics of blame. The ethical evaluation of blame shifting is based on perceptions of target blameworthiness, the motives of the blamer, and message fairness. These three perceptions explain the evaluators' judgment of whether blame shifting is ethical. Furthermore, the model explains why at times evaluators fail to develop a detailed ethical evaluation of the message. Organizational blame shifting in these circumstances can be effective and yet unethical because evaluators do not cognitively process the relevant ethical factors. This article contributes to research on blame shifting by explaining how evaluators judge ethicality and examining the conditions for ethical blame shifting.