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How Do Firms Manage Ethically-Contested Organizational Paradoxes?: Insights from two Historical Case Studies of Modern Slavery

Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review

Published

Standard

How Do Firms Manage Ethically-Contested Organizational Paradoxes? Insights from two Historical Case Studies of Modern Slavery. / Wong, Ncholas; Smith, Andrew; Discua Cruz, Allan et al.
In: Business History, Vol. 67, No. 2, 31.03.2025, p. 629-657.

Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review

Harvard

Wong, N, Smith, A, Discua Cruz, A, Burton, N & Charambolous, E 2025, 'How Do Firms Manage Ethically-Contested Organizational Paradoxes? Insights from two Historical Case Studies of Modern Slavery', Business History, vol. 67, no. 2, pp. 629-657.

APA

Wong, N., Smith, A., Discua Cruz, A., Burton, N., & Charambolous, E. (2025). How Do Firms Manage Ethically-Contested Organizational Paradoxes? Insights from two Historical Case Studies of Modern Slavery. Business History, 67(2), 629-657.

Vancouver

Wong N, Smith A, Discua Cruz A, Burton N, Charambolous E. How Do Firms Manage Ethically-Contested Organizational Paradoxes? Insights from two Historical Case Studies of Modern Slavery. Business History. 2025 Mar 31;67(2):629-657. Epub 2025 Jan 10.

Author

Wong, Ncholas ; Smith, Andrew ; Discua Cruz, Allan et al. / How Do Firms Manage Ethically-Contested Organizational Paradoxes? Insights from two Historical Case Studies of Modern Slavery. In: Business History. 2025 ; Vol. 67, No. 2. pp. 629-657.

Bibtex

@article{2eb67d01673a457bbd4f11984fccf9bd,
title = "How Do Firms Manage Ethically-Contested Organizational Paradoxes?: Insights from two Historical Case Studies of Modern Slavery",
abstract = "Management researchers, particularly those focused on socially important issues such as worker exploitation, are increasingly interested in what this study terms ethically-contested organizational paradoxes. Such paradoxes occur when there is an incongruity between the ethical dimensions of a firm{\textquoteright}s action in one area, geographical or functional, and another. To understand how firms manage ethically-contested organizational paradoxes, this study conducts historical research on two twentieth century firms, Cadburys and Rowntree, who were lauded by contemporaries for their enlightened treatment of domestic workforces whilst simultaneously being engaged in labour practices overseas that were controversial and exploitative. This study examines how two multigenerational family firms managed the paradox inherent in the significant difference in how they treated their workers at home and abroad. This study identifies three types of strategies that firm leaders used to manage the existence of ethically-contested organizational paradoxes: disinforming, subordinating, and self-doubting.",
author = "Ncholas Wong and Andrew Smith and {Discua Cruz}, Allan and Nicholas Burton and Eleni Charambolous",
year = "2025",
month = mar,
day = "31",
language = "English",
volume = "67",
pages = "629--657",
journal = "Business History",
issn = "0007-6791",
publisher = "Taylor and Francis Ltd.",
number = "2",

}

RIS

TY - JOUR

T1 - How Do Firms Manage Ethically-Contested Organizational Paradoxes?

T2 - Insights from two Historical Case Studies of Modern Slavery

AU - Wong, Ncholas

AU - Smith, Andrew

AU - Discua Cruz, Allan

AU - Burton, Nicholas

AU - Charambolous, Eleni

PY - 2025/3/31

Y1 - 2025/3/31

N2 - Management researchers, particularly those focused on socially important issues such as worker exploitation, are increasingly interested in what this study terms ethically-contested organizational paradoxes. Such paradoxes occur when there is an incongruity between the ethical dimensions of a firm’s action in one area, geographical or functional, and another. To understand how firms manage ethically-contested organizational paradoxes, this study conducts historical research on two twentieth century firms, Cadburys and Rowntree, who were lauded by contemporaries for their enlightened treatment of domestic workforces whilst simultaneously being engaged in labour practices overseas that were controversial and exploitative. This study examines how two multigenerational family firms managed the paradox inherent in the significant difference in how they treated their workers at home and abroad. This study identifies three types of strategies that firm leaders used to manage the existence of ethically-contested organizational paradoxes: disinforming, subordinating, and self-doubting.

AB - Management researchers, particularly those focused on socially important issues such as worker exploitation, are increasingly interested in what this study terms ethically-contested organizational paradoxes. Such paradoxes occur when there is an incongruity between the ethical dimensions of a firm’s action in one area, geographical or functional, and another. To understand how firms manage ethically-contested organizational paradoxes, this study conducts historical research on two twentieth century firms, Cadburys and Rowntree, who were lauded by contemporaries for their enlightened treatment of domestic workforces whilst simultaneously being engaged in labour practices overseas that were controversial and exploitative. This study examines how two multigenerational family firms managed the paradox inherent in the significant difference in how they treated their workers at home and abroad. This study identifies three types of strategies that firm leaders used to manage the existence of ethically-contested organizational paradoxes: disinforming, subordinating, and self-doubting.

M3 - Journal article

VL - 67

SP - 629

EP - 657

JO - Business History

JF - Business History

SN - 0007-6791

IS - 2

ER -