Decoupled but necessary : The internal significance of codes of conduct in retail firms

• In this paper, we examine the significance of codes of conducts (CoCs) in the internal work context of two retail firms. We do this in a threefold way. First, we identify in what way employees use and refer to CoCs internally. Second, we identify the function and relevance of CoCs inside a company. Third, we explain why CoCs tend to function in the identified ways. We find practical and conscious decoupling in our cases, which – counter-intuitively – seems to facilitate the process of establishing a CoC in the organisations. This is explained by the contents of the codes and by the normative meta-logic they represent. Although decoupling may exist as a reality within the two retail firms, it is counteracted by the normative master ideas expressed in the codes. This normative meta-logic serves as a unifying understanding of the meaning of work. Based on this, we argue that we must look upon decoupling from a more contextual viewpoint. We claim that it is wise to go above the single-levelled analysis of decoupling and open up for a two-level analysis which takes into account not only the concrete application of CoCs but also their function and meaning. An implication of this is that what might appear as a decoupled code cannot be dismissed as irrelevant to the ‘core’ of the organisation.

Ämnesord

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Ekonomi och näringsliv -- Företagsekonomi (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Economics and Business -- Business Administration (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

Code of conduct

Decoupling

Ethics

Retail

Business studies

Företagsekonomi

Företagsekonomi

Business Studies

Publikations- och innehållstyp

ref (ämneskategori)

kon (ämneskategori)