September 30, 2023

Ethical Codes in Sports Organizations: Classification Framework, Content Analysis, and the Influence of Content on Code Effectiveness

Els De Waegeneer • Jeroen Van De Sompele •

Annick Willem

Received: 8 November 2013 / Accepted: 24 December 2014 / Published online: 8 January 2015

� Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2015

Abstract Sports organizations face various ethical chal-

lenges. To tackle these, ethical codes are becoming

increasingly popular instruments. However, a lot of ques-

tions remain concerning their effectiveness. There is a

particular lack of knowledge when it comes to their form

and content, and on the influence of these features on the

effectiveness of these codes of ethics. Therefore, we

developed a framework to analyze ethical codes and used

this to assess codes of ethics in sports clubs from six dis-

ciplines (soccer, gymnastics, badminton, equestrian sports,

tennis, and judo). The form and content characteristics of

the codes were tested for their impact on the ethical climate

of sports clubs. Our results show that most codes focus on

the themes of integrity, and on solidarity among the

members of sports clubs. Deontological phrasing is domi-

nant in ethical codes in sports clubs. The occurrence of

comprehension aids, such as examples, and procedural

content, such as the mentioning of sanctions, is low. When

it comes to code effectiveness, i.e., the influence on the

ethical climate, we see a positive significant effect of the

use of consequentialist oriented statements, and of the

combination of regulatory and inspirational phrasing. Also

the presence of explicit guidelines for the members of the

board had a positive significant affect. This shows that

codes should be a source of inspiration and stimulate moral

awareness, rather than merely guide behavior by simple

rules. Other content elements do not influence code

effectiveness, suggesting that ethical codes merely have a

function of raising ethical awareness in sports clubs. These

results help to shed light on what it takes for a code of

ethics to become a useful and effective instrument to tackle

unethical behavior in sports clubs.

Keywords Code content � Code of ethics � Ethical climate index � Sports organizations

Introduction

Ethical codes are a common approach to confront ethical

problems in the business world (Kaptein and Schwartz

2008; Singh 2011; Webley and Werner 2008). Organiza-

tions turn to these instruments for the promotion of ethical

behavior, for the communication of their commitment to

ethical business practices as well as for the reprimanding of

internal unethical behavior. The business of sport is no

exception to this, as was shown at the London 2012

Olympic Games, where the World Badminton Federation

disqualified several highly ranked contestants for breaching

the ethical code for players (Badminton World Federation

2012). This demonstrates how ethical codes have gained

prestige and authority in the sports sector, as they have in

more traditional business settings. Ethical codes are a

prominent part of a formal ethics program, which is a key

element in the development and maintenance of ethical

behavior in an organization, according to Schwartz (2013).

To date, this theory has not been put to the test in the sports

sector and there has been no research on the occurrence and

effectiveness of ethical codes in this specific context. In

this paper, the definition of an ethical code by Kaptein and

Schwartz (2008, p. 113) is used. These authors describe a

E. De Waegeneer (&) � J. Van De Sompele � A. Willem

Department of Movement and Sport Sciences, Ghent University,

Watersportlaan 2, 9000 Ghent, Belgium

e-mail: [email protected]

J. Van De Sompele

e-mail: [email protected]

A. Willem

e-mail: [email protected]

123

J Bus Ethics (2016) 136:587–598

DOI 10.1007/s10551-014-2531-y

http://crossmark.crossref.org/dialog/?doi=10.1007/s10551-014-2531-y&domain=pdf

code of ethics as ‘‘a distinct and formal document con-

taining a set of prescriptions developed by and for a

company to guide present and future behavior on multiple

issues for at least its managers and employees toward one

another, the company, external stakeholders, and/or society

in general.’’ By adding the word ‘‘ethical’’ to the definition,

we mark out the sort of behavior that is discussed and by

replacing the word ‘‘company’’ by the term ‘‘organiza-

tion’’, we acknowledge the occurrence of ethical codes in

other contexts, such as sport clubs: ‘‘a distinct and formal

document containing a set of prescriptions developed by

and for an organization to guide present and future ethical

behavior on multiple issues for at least its managers and

employees toward one another, the company, external

stakeholders, and/or society in general’’.

A large number of studies have been devoted to the

existence and effectiveness of such ethical codes, but the

results remain inconclusive (Helin and Sandström 2007;

Kaptein and Schwartz 2008). Singh (2011) has established

a theoretical model on code effectiveness, in which the

content of these ethical codes plays an important role, next

to a group of five other variables (i.e., code purpose,

implementation, internal communication/enforcement,

external communication, and recency of code utility). The

influence of form and content of the ethical codes is often

overlooked, despite the fact that these factors might be

important to explain large differences in results on

effectiveness.

Singh (2011) urges the development of a method to

measure the quality of content of ethical codes and to

establish a link between this quality and the effectiveness

of the code. Kaptein (2011) and Kaptein and Schwartz

(2008) agree that it is relevant to study the content of the

code and its relationship with unethical behavior. Despite

the number of content studies found in the literature, the

research gap on how content can influence output, i.e., the

effectiveness of the code, has not been filled (Helin and

Sandström 2007).

Studies on the influence of the content of ethical codes

are available but offer insufficient insight into this matter,

mostly because their methodology does not consider all the

relevant elements, or because they report results that con-

tradict one another. For instance, Gaumnitz and Lere

(2002, 2004) and Erwin (2011) thoroughly examine many

aspects of code content, such as focus of the statements,

tone, and presentation, but do not include the presence of

examples and the ethical viewpoint that is used, which

could be relevant variables (Malloy and Fennell 1998;

Farrell and Cobbin 2000). Furthermore, variables that do

not strictly relate to content but rather concern code

development, implementation, or communication issues

are considered as content variables and thus influence the

analysis. For instance, Erwin (2011) considers the public

availability of the document as a content variable, while we

argue that this is a matter of communication. Due to the

lack of a comprehensive instrument for content analysis,

the construction of a solid framework to analyze the con-

tent of ethical codes is a first step toward a better under-

standing of what elements are vital in a code of ethics in

order for it to be an effective instrument to guide ethical

behavior.

The mixed results on code effectiveness can also be

partly attributed to the use of different methods to define

and examine effectiveness. In literature, we find several

authors who apply the number of violations in an organi-

zation as a measure of code effectiveness (McKendall et al.

2002; Kaptein and Schwartz 2008). However, certain

objections can be formulated against the validity of this

method. For instance, when there is a fear of reporting

unethical behavior and whistleblowers are not sufficiently

protected against retaliation, a large proportion of the

problems might remain unreported (Webley and Werner

2008). Even if violations were reported every time a vio-

lation was committed, this is limited as an indicator of

ethical behavior. For instance, one could argue that the

observed number of violations increases if a code of ethics

is effective, as employees are more attuned to such

behavior in the organization (Kaptein 2011), a hypothesis

that is also supported by Somers (2001). Another method

for the assessment of code effectiveness is turning to the

perception of practice by members of the organization

(Adams et al. 2001; Singh 2006). Of course, this method

has its limitations as well. The fact that data are collected

by means of self-reporting could pave the way for social

desirability in responding to questions.

Another complicating factor in drawing conclusion on

the effectiveness of ethical codes in sports organizations is

the fact that we cannot consider sports to behave as any

other business setting. The sports sector has a particular set

of characteristics (Babiak and Wolfe 2009) and this could

influence the occurrence, use, and effectiveness of ethical

codes. The high media visibility (Babiak and Wolfe 2009)

for instance, could increase the need for tangible commit-

ments of ethical responsibility because the amount of

scrutiny in comparison to other spheres of commercial

endeavor is raised (Smith and Stewart 2010). Another

characteristic is the specificity of the stakeholders at hand:

youth, sponsors, fans, parents, referees, and so on (Babiak

and Wolfe 2009). The extent to which these stakeholders

are included in the code affects content and use of the

ethical code. Also the ethical challenges are very distinct in

this sector: more general organizations do not have to face

problems such as matchfixing, doping, and aggression.

Another distinct feature is the low degree of substitutability

of the sporting product (Smith and Stewart 2010), which is

different from most other businesses. In addition, another

588 E. De Waegeneer et al.

123

important influencing factor in the evaluation of ethical

behavior is the passionate, almost unconditional admiration

and loyalty of fans to their sport organization (Babiak and

Wolfe 2009). As Smith and Stewart (2010, p. 11) literally

state ‘‘Sport can get away with a number of anti-competi-

tive practices that would normally put the CEOs of busi-

ness enterprises in jail’’. The low product substitutability

and high loyalty of fans, even when a sport organization

regularly under-performs or doubtfully excels, raises the

question how unethical behavior is treated by highly loyal

stakeholders. Together all these characteristics make up for

a specific business setting and this fact does not allow us to

simply transfer general findings on ethical codes to the

sports sector.

Framework

To address the issues stated above, the present study deals

with the construction of a comprehensive framework for

content analysis of ethical codes, investigates the form and

content of ethical codes in sports organizations, using this

newly established framework, and studies the potential

influence of code form and content on the effectiveness of

the code. The present study differs from earlier ones in the

larger number of codes (119) that were analyzed. This

research extends the work of others in several ways, by

providing a comprehensive framework for analysis of code

content in general and a contribution to the understanding of

the occurrence and effectiveness of ethical codes in sports

organizations in particular. It sheds new light on the topic of

ethical codes in the sport context, whereby the requirements

made by Kaptein and Schwartz (2008) to consider content

when studying ethical codes, have been met.

A comprehensive framework for the analysis of content

and form of ethical codes is not readily available. Both

Gaumnitz and Lere (2002, 2004) and Erwin (2011) have

established a classification scheme, but some essential

variables are lacking and other variables that they do incor-

porate in the classification are not relevant to the analysis of

content and/or form, such as the display of the code.

Several authors have mentioned variables that can be

assessed to describe the form of codes of ethics. We will

discuss all these variables systematically below, and eval-

uate if they are of importance in the setting of ethical codes

in the sports context. Assumptions are then formulated

regarding the effect of these code variables on the effec-

tiveness of the code, i.e., the ethical climate in the sports

club.

Length and Focus of the Code

Several authors take the length of the ethical code, i.e., the

number of statements and/or the number of pages, into

account when analyzing the content (Farrell and Cobbin

1996; Gaumnitz and Lere 2004). While length is an

important dimension, a lot of information is lost when only

this measure is used to describe the form of the document

(Gaumnitz and Lere 2004). It does not capture the attention

that each theme in the code has received. For instance, a

code can contain a lot of statements, but only cover one

topic, or it can contain the same number of statements and

cover several topics. Therefore, it is also important to

consider if different themes are present in a code of ethics.

In our classification framework, we include length (both

number of pages and number of statements) as well as

focus (number of themes).

A1 The length (i.e., number of pages) of the ethical

codes in sports clubs will have an influence on its

effectiveness, i.e., on the ethical climate in the club.

A2 The number of statements in a code of ethics in sports

clubs has an impact on its effectiveness.

A3 The focus of the ethical code in sports clubs will have

an influence on its effectiveness.

Thematic Content

When we consider focus in our framework, this applies to

the different themes that are present in a code, but this

variable does not assess the content of these themes. This

thematic content is another relevant variable to analyze.

Themes are categorical classes to describe the specific

ethical issues that are being tackled. Because sport has very

specific ethical challenges, it is necessary to include rele-

vant themes, i.e., respect for diversity, fair play, solidarity,

children’s rights in sports, inclusion, and physical and

psychological integrity. Respect for diversity is explained

as the fact that in a sports club, there should be room for

everyone, irrespective of their race, gender, sexual orien-

tation, cultural background, origin or religion. An impor-

tant emphasis is put on racism, as this is a persistent

problem in the sports setting (McNamee 2010; Wagner-

Egger et al. 2012; Burdsey 2012). Another theme is fair

play, which concerns respect for the rules and the spirit of

the game (Simon 1991; DeSensi and Rosenberg 2010;

McNamee 2010). The violation of fair play is at the center

of unethical behavior in sports: cheating, matchfixing,

doping, and violent behavior on the field are unfortunately

widespread (Maennig 2005; Hill 2009; Emrich and Pier-

dzioch 2013; Gould 2013). Solidarity is the theme that

deals with both respect for the members of the club and

with creating a feeling of unity among the members of a

sports club (Fair Play International Committee 2013).

Improving the cohesion among people is often seen as one

of the important goals of sports (Pain et al. 2012), and

therefore it is worth investigating if a code of ethics pays

Ethical Codes in Sports Organizations 589

123

attention to solidarity. For instance, codes can provide

guidelines for conflict-handling in a sports club (Holt et al.

2012). We also consider children’s rights in sports as a

theme: the belief that every child should have the oppor-

tunity to compete in an appropriate environment, without

experiencing unhealthy pressure from parents and/or coa-

ches, and with attention for the child’s autonomy and the

parental concern for the child’s well-being (Weber 2009;

Petersen 2010; Sagar and Lavalee 2010; Hartill 2013). The

theme ‘‘inclusion’’ emphasizes that efforts should be

undertaken to make sports accessible for disabled persons

and persons that in other ways encounter barriers to engage

in sports (Boxill 2003; McNamee 2010; Fitzgerald and

Stride 2012). The final theme is physical and psychological

integrity, by which we capture the idea that all means

should be used by sports clubs to guarantee the protection

of its members against any form of intimidation, violence,

aggression, and bullying (Boxill 2003; DeSensi and

Rosenberg 2010; McNamee 2010). Unfortunately, sports

club are still confronted with sexual, psychological, and

physical abuse (Stirling et al. 2011; Marks et al. 2013;

Parent and Hlimi 2013). It is worthwhile to look into the

occurrence of guidelines in ethical codes that aim to

identify and prevent instances of abuse and harassment to

assure the health and safety of participants in the sport

environment.

A4 The themes in the content of the ethical code in

sports clubs will impact the effectiveness of the code.

Ethical Orientation

Some studies not only look at the themes of the statements in

ethical codes, but consider their ethical orientation as well.

For instance, Getz (1990) makes the distinction between

deontological and consequentialist oriented statements. In

the first case, the primary determinant of ethical behavior is

the duty to follow rules. The consequences or possible con-

sequences of behavior are of secondary importance to the

intent (DeSensi and Rosenberg 2010). This is not the case in

the consequentialist oriented ethical theories, where the

outcome of action is the dominant concern, rather than the

means and intent of the act. As a result, a consequentialist-

based statement will prescribe a certain behavior, and will

indicate the rationale for this behavior as well. This is

opposed to a deontological statement on ethical behavior,

where only the obligation of following a certain duty will be

mentioned, without a rationale or justification (Malloy and

Fennell 1998). As DeSensi and Rosenberg (2010, p. 74) state

on deontology, ‘‘it does notmatter whether the consequences

of behavior are good or bad. One’s only duty is to adhere to

accepted and well-established moral standards’’. A third

ethical orientation that forms a base for statements and

guidelines is called ‘‘Virtue ethics’’. In this theory the point

of departure is the idea that a virtuous character is what is

needed to make sound ethical judgments and behave in an

ethical manner. Virtuous character traits are sufficient to

attain ethical behavior and a virtuous person has no need to

be guided by ethical rules or obligations (DeSensi and

Rosenberg 2010). To tackle an ethical challenge, one does

not have to look for rules or duties, but rather envision an

ideal type of virtuous agent who would respond to this

challenge. For instance, when faced with an ethical dilemma

in sports, one would consider how an imaginary ideal

sportsman would react in this particular situation, based on

his/her virtues, such as sensitivity, compassion, or respect.

This type of ethical guidance could be found in the ethical

codes of sports clubs. For instance, a certain statement said

‘‘Act like a worthy athlete when you lose a game’’. This

division according to ethical orientation is also followed by

Malloy and Fennell (1998) and Malloy et al. (2002).

Although expressed in other words, a similar classification is

made by Tucker et al. (1999) and Farrell and Cobbin (1996)

in their studies on content analysis of ethical codes.

All three orientations hold risks and advantages and this

could affect the organization’s ethical behavior. The fre-

quent use of deontological statements holds the risk that the

codes come across as rigid and do not involve the audience

in the act of moral deliberation and judgment. With con-

sequentialist theories, there is a risk of ignoring or over-

looking values when the focus lies only on the

consequences of an action (DeSensi and Rosenberg 2010).

For instance, when a statement points out that the goal of

the team should be to always perform in their best way, it

could happen that certain values, such as equal participa-

tion, are trampled. The virtue ethics approach has the risk

of being too implicit. For instance, the guideline ‘‘when

you lose the game, act as a worthy athlete’’, without the

explanation of what is meant by this in practice.

We will include ethical orientation (i.e., deontological

vs. consequentialist vs. virtue ethics approach) in our

classification framework.

A5 The effectiveness of an ethical code in sports clubs

will be influenced by the ethical orientation of the

code.

Tone

Tone is often considered a relevant variable when analyzing

the content of ethical codes.We can see a distinction between

on the one hand, an inspirational/directing (‘‘thou shalt’’)

tone, and on the other hand a regulatory/proscriptive tone

(Gaumnitz and Lere 2004). A similar distinction is found in

the formulation of the statements, i.e., positive (‘‘thou shalt’’)

versus negative (‘‘thou shalt not’’) statements (Tucker et al.

590 E. De Waegeneer et al.

123

1999; Gaumnitz and Lere 2004).Malloy and Fennell (1998)

call this aspect the ‘‘mood of the message’’. We include both

distinctions in our classification framework.

We will not expand this by assessing the linguistic

characteristics of the document, as this is a proxy for code

tone.

A6 The effectiveness of an ethical code in sports clubs

will be influenced by the tone of the code.

Comprehension Aids

Another variable to benchmark codes of ethics is the

availability of comprehension aids (Erwin 2011). In this

case, a comprehension aid is an example to clarify the

meaning of statements in the ethical code and to help with

interpreting and applying these statements in the reader’s

situation. Other elements that can be considered as com-

prehension aids are checklists, FAQs, and Q&As. We will

include this variable in our classification framework for

content analysis of ethical codes in sports clubs.

A7 The effectiveness of an ethical code in sports clubs

will be influenced by the presence of comprehension

aids.

Procedural Content

Guidance for reporting and sanctioning of unethical

behavior and statements can be included in the ethical

code. These variables, which we call ‘‘procedural content’’,

are included in our framework for classification, as was the

case in the research of Cressey and Moore (1983), Farrell

and Cobbin (1996), Carasco and Singh (2003), Erwin

(2011) and Lugli et al. (2009).

A8 The effectiveness of an ethical code in sports clubs

will be higher if procedural content is available in the

code.

Target Audience

The content of an ethical code can explicitly target certain

stakeholders. In the case of sports, the stakeholders differ

from traditional business stakeholders (Babiak and Wolfe

2009). We consider the internal stakeholders (board of

directors, management, trainers, athletes) and the external

stakeholders (fans, parents, sponsors). All these different

groups contribute to the sport setting and its ethical cli-

mate, and, therefore, can give rise to different statements

on their specific ethical responsibilities in the code of

ethics. For example, some youth clubs explicitly mention

guidelines for parents in their documents. Some authors

refer to this variable as the ‘‘focus’’ of the code (Wiley

2000; O’Dwyer and Madden 2006), however, this term can

be confused when applied to describe the number of

themes (Gaumnitz and Lere 2004). Therefore, we prefer

the term ‘‘target audience’’, and use this term in our clas-

sification framework.

A9 The effectiveness of an ethical code in sports clubs

will be influenced by the target audience.

Methodology

Content Analysis of Ethical Codes in Sports

Organizations

Within Flanders, the boards of directors of 549 sports clubs

from six different sports disciplines cooperated in a study

on the presence of ethical codes (ICES 2012). The targeted

population included judo, equestrian sport, gymnastics,

soccer, badminton, and tennis. These sports disciplines

represent popular sports and a variety of characteristics,

such as team and individual sports, non-contact, and con-

tact sports. 57.7 % of the clubs in this sample indicated that

they had a code of ethics. This is our population of interest.

The 316 sports clubs that claimed to have a code of

ethics were asked to send us an original copy of this doc-

ument. The board of directors was addressed in Flemish

and received details (mail, telephone) to contact us in case

of questions or doubts. An additional round of code gath-

ering was performed by telephone and e-mail. These

actions supplied us with 119 ethical codes to analyze,

representing a response rate of 37.8 %.

The codes of ethics were analyzed using our framework.

To ensure reliability between different observers, a random

set of 10 % of all the codes were rated by another

researcher. We attained a substantial inter-rater reliability

agreement of 0.72 (p 0.001).

Influence of Code Content on Effectiveness

The method we used to evaluate the effectiveness of the eth-

ical codes is the assessment of the perceptions of practice by

themembers of the sports club.More specifically,wemeasure

the Ethical Climate of the organization, which is defined as

‘‘the shared perceptions of the content and strength of the

prevalent ethics-relatedvalues, norms, attitudes and behaviors

of the members of a social system’’ (Arnaud 2006). Ethical

Climate reflects the organizational procedures, policies, and

practices withmoral consequences. A sound concretization of

the Ethical Climate of an organization was composed by Ar-

naud (2006), namely the Ethical Climate Index (ECI). The

ECI consists of four components: CollectiveMoral Sensitivity

Ethical Codes in Sports Organizations 591

123

(MS), including Norms of Moral Awareness and Empathetic

Concern, Collective Moral Judgment (MJ), Collective Moral

Motivation (MM) and Collective Moral Character (MC)

(Arnaud 2006). The ECI is a valuable and adequate indicator

for the ethical behavior in organizations (Arnaud 2006), and

therefore can prove useful in evaluating code effectiveness in

the sports context, when adjusted to this setting. The ECI

concept describes the typeof ethical decision-making that is in

place, as well as the level ofmoral thinking that dominates the

respondents’ behavior. It not only considers the vantage point

of the manager but takes members’ view of the ethical

behavior and practices in organizations into account. To tailor

the ECI questionnaire to our study design, the original ECI

scale was translated into Flemish according to scientific

standards. Subsequently, the terminology of the general

business setting was adjusted to that of the sports context. For

instance, the term ‘‘employees’’ was replaced by ‘‘athletes’’.

We will refer to this form of the ECI as the s-ECI in this

manuscript.

The sports clubs whose response indicated that they

have a code of ethics were contacted to fill out the s-ECI.

This questionnaire was delivered to the board, and the

board was then asked to spread this questionnaire to the

members of the sports organizations (board members,

management, trainers, athletes). The questionnaire was also

posted on the website of the according sports federations

and on the Facebook pages of the sports organizations, to

reach the members of the club in a direct way. To be able

to assess the s-ECI, we needed at least three responses for

each sports organizations, to get a reliable score (Arnaud

2006). This was the case for 62 sports clubs (52.1 % of the

clubs for which code were analyzed). For these clubs, we

have their ethical code, as well as the data on the s-ECI in

their organization. The extensive questionnaire played an

important role in the nonresponse of certain clubs. In

particular, the requirements to have (a) a board member

filling out the questionnaire, (b) having an ethical code,

responses for each organization, made that a lot of clubs

were excluded. The average number of responses per club

was 6.81, with a minimum of 3 and a maximum of 44.

Athletes were the dominant group of respondents for the

s-ECI test (82.9 %). The s-ECI for each organization was

calculated as the mean score of the responses per club.

The assumptions are analyzed via different statistical

procedures. Independent t test sampling was used to study

the relation between the ECI-scores and, respectively, the

qualitative variables in our framework, such as ethical

orientation and tone. MANOVA tests were performed to

study the relation between the ECI-scores and the quanti-

tative variables, such as number of statements, in our

framework. Assumptions about data normality and homo-

geneity were tested and met.

Results

Content Analysis

The codes of ethics were classified according to our

framework. We found that the variables in our classifica-

tion framework, based on the literature, were sufficient for

the content analysis of ethical codes.

Descriptive statistics revealed that 26.9 % of the sports

clubs in our sample adopted the Panathlon Declaration on

Ethics in Youth Sports, in addition to their tailor-made

code of ethics. 9.24 % of the clubs only had the Panathlon

Declaration and no other code next to this document.

When we look at the length of the code, 16.0 % of the

clubs had a code that was less than half a page. 31.1 % of

the clubs had a code with a length from one half to one

page and 52.9 % of the clubs had a code of ethics that

contained more than one page. When we look at the

number of statements, the ethical codes had an average of

25.2 (±23.8 SD) statements. The minimum was as few as

two statements, the maximum number of statements in an

ethical code was 141.

Related to the thematic content of the ethical codes, the

theme ‘‘solidarity’’ appeared in 89.9 % of the clubs, fol-

lowed by 83.2 % for the theme ‘‘physical and psycholog-

ical integrity’’. ‘‘Fair play’’ was found as a theme in 55.5 %

of the codes, ‘‘Inclusion’’ in 42.9 % of the codes, ‘‘Respect

for diversity’’ in 36.1 % of the codes, and ‘‘Children’s

rights in sports’’ were mentioned in at least one statement

in 42.9 % of the cases. Further analysis showed that when

it comes to level of detail, the theme of ‘‘solidarity’’ was

expressed most often (average number of statements: 25.2).

This theme was followed by ‘‘physical and psychological

integrity’’ (4.9), ‘‘fair play’’ (3.0), ‘‘children’s rights in

sport’’ (2.2), ‘‘respect for diversity’’(1.1), and ‘‘inclusion’’

(0.9), respectively. Examples of guidelines for each theme

from ethical codes are given in Table 1.

94.1 % of the codes contained deontological statements,

40.3 % had consequentialist statements and in 24.4 % of

the ethical codes appeared statements that were formulated

from a virtue ethics point of view. Half of all the ethical

codes showed a combination of ethical orientations.

46.6 % of the codes had only deontological statements,

5.1 % contained only the consequentialist orientation and

there were no codes with merely solely virtue ethics

statements. The statements in ethical codes were mostly

deontological in nature. Considering the overall group of

statements, across the different codes, it shows that 91.7 %

of all statements were deontological, whereas 6.4 % were

consequentialist and only 2.9 % of the total number of

statements were rooted in virtue ethics.

When it comes to tone, 21.4 % of the codes were

inspirational, versus 43.6 % that were strictly regulatory in

592 E. De Waegeneer et al.

123

nature. In 35.0 % of the cases, the codes contained both

inspirational and regulatory statements.

Comprehension aids were rather limited. Examples were

used in only 28.0 % of the ethical codes. The same was the

case for procedural statements. 42.4 % of the ethical codes

mentioned sanctioning. No statements on protection for

whistleblowers were present in any of the codes.

The athletes were the dominant audience that was tar-

geted by ethical codes. 90.7 % of the codes contained

statements that were directed towards them. Most codes

(70.6 %) had statements for the parents. Almost half of the

codes (45.8 %) had statements for the trainers, and 35.6 %

addressed the fans. This was followed by the board of

directors, who were targeted in 29.7 % of the codes.

Sponsors were not mentioned in the codes.

Influence of Code Content on Effectiveness

When it comes to code length, the results showed no sig-

nificant effect (F = 1.456, p = .232) of length (number of

pages) on the scores of the s-ECI and its four subscales.

Another content variable that we assessed was the level of

detail, namely the number of statements of the different

themes in the ethical code. We saw that there was a sig-

nificant difference in effect on the s-ECI and on MM

between codes with 30 or less statements on the one hand

and more than 30 statements on the other hand, as was

shown in Table 2. Codes with over 30 statements scored

notably lower on the overall ECI and on the subscale for

MM than codes that contain 30 statements or less. The

focus of the ethical code (number of themes) showed no

significant effect (F = .938, p = .337) on the scores of the

s-ECI and its four subscales.

The thematic content did not have a significant effect on

the score of the ECI and its subscales: the presence of

guidelines concerning children’s right (t = .478;

p = .635), inclusion (t = -.224; p = .823), fair play

(t = 1.106; p = .314), integrity (t = -.353; p = .731),

diversity (t = 1.414; p = .167), and solidarity (t = .817;

p = .443) did not significantly impact the effectiveness of

the code.

The ethical orientation of the statements in ethical codes

was shown to have a significant effect on ethical behavior.

Codes with consequentialist expressions showed a trend

towards positive significant effect for s-ECI (p = 0.057).

The occurrence of statements of different ethical orienta-

tions in the same code, as opposed to codes with statements

rooted in only one orientation, showed a trend toward a

significant effect (p = 0.053) on the MM subscale. When a

code contained statement from only one orientation, the

MM was higher than when different orientations were

combined in the same code (Table 3).

When we consider the tone of the statements in the

ethical codes, there appeared to be a multivariate

Table 1 Examples of guidelines for the different themes in the codes of ethics in sports organizations

Theme Examples

Solidarity The members of our club are not supposed to beat each other, but to learn from each other and support each other

Every member should have an equal amount of time to participate, as our coaches have the task to enhance the

capabilities of all the players

Physical and psychological

integrity

No smoking is allowed in our sports club

Bullying is not accepted in our organization and will be punished

Fair play Performance-enhancing products are forbidden as they go against the spirit of fair play

Do not go against the judgment of the referees

Do not corrupt matches

Play by the rules

Children’s rights in sport We urge parents to withhold from negative remarks on the players, the coaches and the referees during and after

the match

Do not put too much emphasis on the aspect of winning, but rather stimulate the pleasure your child experiences

during the game

Respect for diversity Every member of the club has to respect the religious, moral and political beliefs of the other members

Inclusion Differences in motorial skills are respected in our sports club

Table 2 The effect of the number of statements in a code of ethics on

the Ethical Climate Index and its subscales

(N = 62) Codes with B30

statements

Codes with[30

statements

Moral Sensitivity 3.21 3.19

Moral Judgement 3.12 3.14

Moral Motivation 4.19** 3.73**

Moral Character 3.74 3.62

s-ECI 3.56* 3.44*

* The difference is significant at level p .05

** The difference is significant at level p .005

Ethical Codes in Sports Organizations 593

123

significant effect (Wilk’s lambda = .039). A univariate

significant effect was found for the scores on subscales MJ

and MM as was shown in Table 3. Post hoc tests showed

that the score on MJ was significantly higher when the

ethical code contained a combination of both inspirational

and regulatory statements (3.21 ± 0.28) than when only

regulatory (3.09 ± 0.15) statements or only inspirational

(3.01 ± 0.16) were included. MM score was significantly

higher when inspirational statements (4.35 ± 0.33) were

used to phrase the guidelines in the ethical code than when

regulatory (4.19 ± 060) or combined (3.77 ± 0.53) state-

ments were formulated (Table 4).

Analysis showed that the number of comprehension aids

had no significant effect (t = .943; p = .349) on the s-ECI

and it subscales. Neither the fact that a code of ethics stated

sanctions (t = 1.111; p = .272) had a significant effect on

the ethical climate in the sports club. This held for all the

constructs of the s-ECI.

The target audience of the ethical codes did not have an

influence on the s-ECI, except when the code contains

explicit guidelines for board members (Table 5). When this

is the case, we see a significant higher score in S-ECI, MM,

and MC. A positive significant effect on the MJ subscale is

found when the code contains guidelines for athletes.

However, this does not affect the overall s-ECI.

Discussion

The majority of the sports clubs in our sample had a certain

form of ethical code. When we looked more closely to the

content of such codes, we found that almost all sports clubs

(92.4 %) had a specific code, tailor-made for their orga-

nization. This shows that sports clubs prefer to formulate

their own statements on what they think is right and

important in their specific organization. Even if an existing

document is available, as was the case here, the majority of

the clubs choose to control the code of ethics by adding or

changing elements. The Panathlon code is adopted by

9.24 % of the sports clubs in the study. The Panathlon

Declaration was designed by Panathlon International,

which was founded in 1951 in Venice as an organization

concerned with ethical values in sport. Nowadays, the

organization has spread to 30 countries, covering some 300

clubs and is recognized by the IOC. Their slogan is ‘‘ludis

iungit’’ which means ‘‘connected through the game’’.

Panathlon Flanders was founded in 1978 and is a club of

former Flemish managers of sport federations, athletes, and

sports lovers, who aim to defend, protect and promote

norms and values and fair-play in sport.

The most dominant themes were ‘‘solidarity’’, ‘‘integ-

rity’’, and ‘‘fair play’’. These represent quintessential val-

ues in the domain of sport and seem to be self-evident in

sports organizations. This does not go for ‘‘children’s rights

in sport’’. A lot of clubs do not make specific guidelines for

children or do not consider them as a group with own needs

and characteristics. However, the understanding of the

tension between children, performance, and parents, or

between sport and school, for instance, could benefit from

explicit statements for minors by the organization. Inclu-

sion and diversity are very much underrepresented. This

could be due to different reasons. It could be the case that a

lot of organizations do not have the expertise to handle this

subject in their code. In this case, the federation or a spe-

cialized organization (e.g., anti-discriminatory groups)

could be helpful in learning the sports clubs to engage in

these values in an appropriate way. Another explanation

could be that sports organizations do not consider these

Table 3 The effect of the combination of ethical orientations in a

code of ethics on the Ethical Climate Index and its subscales

(N = 62) Codes with

1 orientation

Codes with only

deontological

orientation

Codes

with[1

orientation

Moral Sensitivity 3.20 3.20 3.21

Moral Judgement 3.12 3.13 3.13

Moral Motivation 4.17a 4.12* 3.87a,*

Moral Character 3.73 3.74 3.65

s-ECI 3.55 3.65 3.48

* The difference is significant at level p .05 a Trend toward significance: p = .053

Table 4 The effect of the tone in a code of ethics on the Ethical

Climate Index and its subscales

(N = 62) Regulatory Inspirational Combination

Moral Sensitivity 3.20 3.19 3.20

Moral Judgement 3.09 3.10 3.21*

Moral Motivation 4.19 4.35* 3.77

Moral Character 3.68 3.87 3.68

s-ECI 3.54 3.61 3.49

* The difference is significant at level p .05

Table 5 The effect of target audience in a code of ethics on the

Ethical Climate Index and its subscales

N = 62 Board Coaches Athletes Parents Fans

Moral Sensitivity .774 -.220 .346 -.502 .711

Moral Judgement -.215 -.177 2.667* .184 -.322

Moral Motivation 2.092* 1.166 -1.655 -.485 1.735

Moral Character 2.317* .128 -1.007 .213 1.006

s-ECI 2.097* .623 -.861 -.268 1.797

* The difference is significant at level p .05

594 E. De Waegeneer et al.

123

values as their responsibilities and therefore do not elabo-

rate on this, but rather add one general guideline that can be

referred to in case someone (e.g., the federation, an orga-

nization for disabled persons, a government) asks about

this. However, the statement ‘‘we do not discriminate in

our organization’’ is not very helpful in making concrete

decisions about who can attend the club and at what level.

In our study, the assumption was made that the length

(both number of pages and number of statements) of the

ethical code in sports clubs could influence its effective-

ness. Some sports clubs seem to believe that a certain

length is vital for the effectiveness of an ethical code in

sports clubs. Codes with no less than 141 statements were

found. However, a higher number of statements did not

show a significant positive relationship with the ethical

climate in these organizations. On the contrary, when a

code had more than 30 statements, we see a decline in

effectiveness. Probably, ethical codes with too many

statements discourage the target audience and are often

displayed and/or signed without being read. Although

length and number of statements were already assessed by

other researchers (Farrell and Cobbin 1996; Gaumnitz and

Lere 2004), their role in the effectiveness of the code was

not looked into before this study. Too expansive documents

could contribute to the fact that sometimes ethical codes

remain hollow phrases rather than becoming a vivid and

effective instruments for guiding behavior in organizations.

Looking at the different themes that were articulated in

ethical codes, solidarity, and integrity were predominant.

Little attention was given to the themes inclusion and

respect for diversity. Possibly, the latter are included as a

form of window-dressing, to emphasize the political cor-

rectness of the organization. On the other hand, fair play

statements are found in the ethical code of most sports

clubs. This could have to do with the fact that ‘‘fair play’’ is

a value that is really at the heart of sports and distinctly

appeals to the sportsmanship in athletes. However, neither

the focus (number of themes) nor the thematic content

itself showed to influence the code’s effectiveness in sports

clubs, as was assumed based on study of earlier research

findings.

Considering ethical orientation, deontology is undoubt-

edly the most prevalent foundation for the formulation of

the statements in codes of ethics. This could be explained

by the fact that sports clubs choose to establish distinct and

clear rules, hoping that this will create consistent guiding

and uniform treatment of all possible problems. As this

ethical orientation is predominant in ethical codes in sports

clubs, attention should be given to these possible risks and

disadvantages. Consequentialism and virtue ethics are

rarely applied in codes of ethics in sports clubs. This could

be due to the desire of sports clubs to guide behavior in a

very strict ways is the case for the rules in the sports

discipline itself. Another explanation can be the lack of

trust of the sports club in the fact that persons involved in

ethical challenges will be able to judge (potential) behavior

when consequences or virtues are formulated, rather than

distinct rules.

The prevalence of deontological statements follows the

results that were found in other sectors. The deontological

orientation outweighs the other orientations in previous

studies in other sectors (Malloy and Fennell 1998, Malloy

et al. 2002). The assumption was made that ethical orien-

tation of the ethical code in sports clubs has a significant

effect on the ethical behavior. Consequentialist statements

are indeed related to the ethical climate in sports. This is no

surprise, as the focus in this ethical orientation is on the

careful deliberation of (possible) consequences, rather than

simply adhering to a strict rule (Morgan 2007; DeSensi and

Rosenberg 2010). Our findings seem to contrasts with the

opinion formulated by Malloy et al. (2002), that the prev-

alence of deontology holds no risk for the effectiveness of

the code, because ‘‘most will follow codes unquestioningly

and no rationale is required’’ (Malloy et al. 2002, p. 457).

However, this finding is supported by the results that state

that codes with a single ethical orientation have more effect

on the ethical climate in sports clubs than codes based on

more than one ethical orientation. This effect is even

stronger when the orientation at issue is deontology. This

suggests that adherence to one viewpoint of ethics in the

whole code of ethics is important and that this condition

could even overrule the possible risk of rigidness of

deontological codes.

Another element of the content of ethical codes that

was assumed to affect ethical behavior in sports clubs is

the tone. This turned out to be the case, as MJ was sig-

nificantly higher when the ethical code contained a

combination of both inspirational and regulatory state-

ments than when only regulatory statements or only

inspirational were included. The target audience wants

both clear guidance on how to behave in certain situa-

tions, as well as more philosophical aspirations. On the

one hand, the mere mentioning of guidelines could come

across as too rigid and on the other hand, a focus on

inspiration rather than rules, could come across as non-

binding and does not achieve pragmatic guidance in

everyday situations. Farrell and Farrell (1998) underwrites

our position that empowerment in decision-making via

tone in ethical codes can encourage the audience to

behave in an ethical manner. Inspirational elements seem

of great value when it comes to motivating people to do

the right thing. Their presence is vital for the MM in

sports clubs. Because they often consist of greater goals

and objectives, rather than practical rules, they could

engage people more, as is the case for consequentialist

statements, as we considered earlier.

Ethical Codes in Sports Organizations 595

123

Comprehension aids, such as the presence of examples

that accompany the statements in the ethical code, did not

prove to enhance ethical behavior in sports clubs, in con-

trast with our assumption. This is also in disagreement with

the assertion by Erwin (2011), who states that compre-

hension aids are one of the critical components to bench-

mark code quality. The finding that examples do not

contribute to a better ethical climate in sports clubs may

come as a surprise, as the use of an example makes the

statements in the code much more specific and brings these

to life. The reader can experience how the code works and

how it should be applied. The use of examples reconciles

the distance between the sometimes theoretical content of

the code and the actual application of the guidelines.

However, our results show that the lack of tangible appli-

cations of the statements in most of the codes did not

impact the effectiveness of the code.

Most of the codes did not mention sanctioning or did not

have guidelines for reporting of violations. This is in

contrast with findings in general business settings, where

no less than 86.6 % of the codes had such procedural

content (Singh 2006). However, the author states that this

does not guarantee a more effective code of ethics. Pro-

cedural content was put forward as an essential element to

ensure the effectiveness of a code of ethics by O’Dwyer

and Madden (2006). In contrast to our assumption, our

study found that the occurrence of procedural content did

not have a significant impact on the ethical behavior in

sports clubs. The explicit mentioning of sanctions did not

seem to affect the audience. A possible explanation could

be that a lot of the people involved in sports are volunteers,

who do not fear substantial consequences, such as resig-

nation or financial implications, when violating a rule,

which could be more prevalent in other businesses.

Our findings show that it is not necessary to target all the

internal and external stakeholders explicitly. This implies

that statements that could guide the behavior of all these

groups, can be sufficient, rather than creating a specific

code for each division. There is however one exception to

this, when it comes to board members. We see that

explicitly mentioning the board of directors and formulat-

ing specific statements for their conduct, increases the

effect of the code significantly. This could be because their

role in ‘‘typical’’ ethical issues in sport, such as violence

and doping, is often overlooked and all eyes are on the

athletes themselves. By raising their awareness and by

stressing their responsibilities, a more ethical climate can

be achieved by a code of ethics. The board of an organi-

zation could perhaps be more able to react when com-

plaints or violations are reported, whereas coaches or

athletes have less powerful means (such as sanctioning or

banning) to stand up to unethical behavior. On the other

hand, at the board level is it also possible to ignore

unethical behavior or to make people keep quiet about

these issues. Therefore, it is of great importance to actively

target this group of people that are active gatekeepers for

ethics in sports organizations.

What our results reflect most, is that certain content

elements in a code of ethics, such as the number of state-

ments and the tone of the statements, as well as including

guidelines for the board of directors, seem to have an

impact on its effectiveness. Other elements do not have a

significant impact on the ethical climate. However, this

does not necessarily mean that a well-designed code of

ethics is not a useful instrument in sports clubs. It would be

too easy to discard the meaning and function of ethical

codes because not all the elements of the content make a

difference for the ethical climate in an organization.

The actual achievements of the ethical code could still

be raising moral awareness in the sports clubs. It is a mean

by which the sports club can show its ethical concern and

state the importance of ethical behavior in the organization,

rather than a practical instrument to guide this behavior

according to certain guidelines. This view is supported by

Adams et al. (2001), who argue that codes play a symbolic

role and serve as a signal as to whether the organization is

concerned with ethics. The signaling function of the pre-

sence of a code of ethics could have an impact on the

ethical behavior in sports clubs, as people are explicitly

told that this subject does matter. Rather than telling lit-

erally to people how to (not) behave, it calls upon their own

sense of responsibility in ethical dilemmas and urge them

to behave in an ethically guided manner. This is supported

by our finding that consequentialist statements influence

the ethical behavior in sports clubs in a positive way.

Consequentialism has the tendency to engage the audience

and to offer insights in the rationale of behavior, rather than

just postulating the desirable outcome.

Conclusion

This study provides an examination of the content analysis

of ethical codes in sports and contributes to the under-

standing of the influence of code content on code effec-

tiveness. Our study purpose meets the requirements of

Kaptein and Schwartz (2008) to take content of codes into

consideration when investigating their effectiveness. The

importance of examining the code content was also put

forward by Singh (2011). To date, no findings are available

in the literature on the topic of ethical codes in sports clubs,

let alone on their effectiveness. The results of our research

demystify some speculations on the role that ethical codes

can play in promoting ethical behavior in sports clubs, and

in other non-profit organizations that rely heavily on vol-

unteers to function smoothly.

596 E. De Waegeneer et al.

123

Kaptein and Schwartz (2008) and Singh (2011)

acknowledged the contribution of code content in code

effectiveness. However, they did not put forward which

content determinants actually influence the effectiveness of

the code. The main goal of this study was to identify these

determinants. Our results support the importance that

Kaptein and Schwartz (2008) and Singh (2011) rightly

attach to code content. We can conclude that most ethical

codes were longer than half a page and contain 17 state-

ments on average. Solidarity and physical and psycholog-

ical integrity were the dominant themes in the codes of

ethics. The occurrence of comprehension aids, such as

examples, and of procedural content, such as measures for

sanctioning, was quite low. For a code to become an

effective tool, it is to be recommended to design the code

as a concise document with a combination of regulatory

and inspirational statements, as this provides a significant

positive effect on ethical behavior. When it comes to eth-

ical orientation, consequentialist statements are most

effective in the promotion of ethical behavior. The explicit

mentioning of the ethical responsibilities of the board

members is also significant to enhance ethical behavior in

sports organizations. These findings suggest that a code

should be more than a simple list of rules to adhere to, but

rather an instrument that inspires the audience to engage in

the responsibilities that being part of a sports clubs entails.

These results could be useful for other business sectors as

well, especially for organizations that depend heavily on

volunteers, such as the cultural sector.

The effectiveness of the code could also be achieved by

its implementation in everyday situations, rather than by its

exact content alone, as was suggested by Singh (2011).

This possibility provides interesting material for further

research that explores the influence of communication and

application of ethical codes on their effectiveness. The

findings of this study teach us something about what

motivates people to behave in a more ethical manner and

about the possible barriers to tackle unethical behavior in

organizations. A code of ethics can still be a good starting

point to enhance ethical awareness and could influence the

ethical climate in organizations if it does not remain a

gathering of hollow phrases, but becomes a usable tool.

Our results, however, show that a sound designed ethical

code is not enough to have an impact on the ethical climate

of the organization. Other mechanisms must be in place to

realize a sound ethical climate or for the instrument to have

an influence. This could have to do with accompanying

measures, either related to the code (such as communica-

tion measures) or unrelated to the code (such as workshops

on ethics). Future research should therefore concentrate on

unraveling the meaning and function of the presence and

implementation of ethical codes, both in sports organiza-

tions and in other businesses.

As this is the first study on the content of ethical codes in

sports clubs, there is still a lot of room for further research, in

which some limitations of this study can be overcome. A

limitation of this research is the potential bias of social

desirability when measuring ethical behavior. It is also

advisable to unravel the exact effects of tone and ethical

orientation, in order to be able to lend support to sports clubs

in designing the most effective and suitable code of ethics.

References

Adams, J. S., Taschian, A., & Shore, T. H. (2001). Codes of ethics as

signals for ethical behavior. Journal of Business Ethics, 29,

199–211.

Arnaud, A. (2006). A new theory and measure of ethical work

climate: The psychological process model (PPM) and the ethical

climate index (ECI). University of Central Florida.

Babiak, K., & Wolfe, R. (2009). Determinants of corporate social

responsibility in professional sport: Internal and external factors.

Journal of Sport Management, 23, 717–742.

Badminton World Federation (2012). www.bwfbadminton.org/news.

Accessed 18 Jun 2014.

Boxill, J. (Ed.). (2003). Sports ethics. An anthology. Oxford:

Blackwell.

Burdsey, P. (2012). That joke isn’t funny anymore: Racial microag-

gressions, color-blind ideology and the mitigation of racism in

English men’s first-class cricket. Sociology of Sport Journal,

28(3), 261–283.

Carasco, E. F., & Singh, J. B. (2003). The content and focus of the

codes of ethics of the World’s largest transnational corporations.

Business and Society Review, 108(1), 71–94.

Cressey, D. R., & Moore, C. A. (1983). Managerial values and

corporate codes of ethics. California Management Review,

25(4), 53–77.

DeSensi, J. T., & Rosenberg, D. (2010). Ethics and morality in sport

management (3rd ed.). West Virginia: West Virginia University.

Emrich, E., & Pierdzioch, C. (2013). Joining the international fight

against doping. Applied Economic Letters, 20(15), 1379–1382.

Erwin, P. M. (2011). Corporate codes of conduct: The effects of code

content and quality on ethical performance. Journal of Business

Ethics, 99, 535–548.

Fair Play International Committee (2013). Retrieved from http://

www.fairplayinternational.org/. Accessed 5 Jan 2015.

Farrell, B. J., & Cobbin, D. M. (1996). A content analysis of codes of

ethics in Australian enterprises. Journal of Managerial Psychol-

ogy, 11(1), 37–55.

Farrell, B. J., & Cobbin, D. M. (2000). A content analysis of codes of

ethics from fifty-seven national accounting organizations. Busi-

ness Ethics: A European Review, 9(3), 180–190.

Farrell, B. J., & Farrell, H. (1998). The language of business codes of

ethics: Implications of knowledge and power. Journal of

Business Ethics, 17, 587–601.

Fitzgerald, H., & Stride, A. (2012). Stories about physical education

from young people with disabilities. International Journal of

Disability Development and Education, 59(3), 283–293.

Gaumnitz, B. R., & Lere, J. C. (2002). Contents of codes of ethics of

professional business in the United States. Journal of Business

Ethics, 35, 35–49.

Gaumnitz, B. R., & Lere, J. C. (2004). A classification scheme for

codes of business ethics. Journal of Business Ethics, 49,

329–335.

Ethical Codes in Sports Organizations 597

123

http://www.bwfbadminton.org/news.

http://www.fairplayinternational.org/

Getz, K. A. (1990). International codes of conduct: An analysis of

ethical reasoning. Journal of Business Ethics, 9, 567–577.

Gould, D. (2013). Gene doping: Gene delivery for olympic victory.

British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology, 76(2), 292–298.

Hartill, M. (2013). Concealment of child sexual abuse in sports.

Quest, 65(2), 241–254.

Helin, S., & Sandström, J. (2007). An inquiry into the study of

corporate codes of ethics. Journal of Business Ethics, 75,

253–271.

Hill, D. (2009). How gambling corrupters fix football matches.

European Sport Management Quarterly, 9(4), 411–432.

Holt, N. L., Knight, C. J., & Zukiwski, P. (2012). Female athletes’

perceptions of teammate conflict in sport: Implications for sport

psychology consultants. Sport Psychologist, 26(1), 135–154.

International center for ethics in sport. (2012). Eindrapport Ethisch

Verantwoord Sporten. Gent: Ghent University.

Kaptein, M. (2011). Toward effective codes: Testing the relationship

with unethical behavior. Journal of Business Ethics, 99,

233–251.

Kaptein, M., & Schwartz, M. (2008). The effectiveness of business

codes: A critical examination of existing studies and the

development of an integrated research model. Journal of

Business Ethics, 77, 111–127.

Lugli, E., Kocollari, U., & Nigrisoli, C. (2009). The codes of ethics of

S&P/MIB Italian companies: An investigation of their contents

and the main factors that influence their adoption. Journal of

Business Ethics, 84, 33–45.

Maennig, W. (2005). Corruption in International Sports and Sport

Management: Forms, tendencies, extent and countermeasures.

European Sport Management Quarterly, 5(2), 187–225.

Malloy, D. C., & Fennell, D. A. (1998). Codes of ethics and tourism:

An exploratory content analysis. Tourism Management, 19(5),

453–461.

Malloy, D. C., Hadjistravopoulos, T., Douad, P., & Smythe, W. E.

(2002). The codes of ethics of the Canadian Psychological

Association and the Canadian Medical Association: Ethical

orientation and functional grammar analysis. Canadian Psychol-

ogy/Psychologie Canadienne, 43(4), 244–253.

Marks, S., Mountjoy, M., & Marcus, M. (2013). Sexual harassment

and abuse in sport: The role of the team doctor. British Journal

of Sports Medicine, 46(13), 905–1020.

McKendall, M., DeMarr, B., & Jones-Rikkers, C. (2002). Ethical

compliance programs and corporate illegality: Testing the

assumptions of the corporate sentencing guidelines. Journal of

Business Ethics, 37, 367–383.

McNamee, M. (Ed.). (2010). The ethics of sports. A Reader. Oxon:

Routledge.

Morgan, W. J. (2007). Ethics, ethical inquiry, and sport. In W.

J. Morgan (Ed.), Ethics in sport. Champaign, IL: Human

Kinetics.

O’Dwyer, B., & Madden, G. (2006). Ethical codes of conduct in Irish

companies: A survey of code content and enforcement proce-

dures. Journal of Business Ethics, 63, 217–236.

Pain, M. A., Harwood, C., & Mullen, R. (2012). Improving the

performance environment of a soccer team during a competitive

season: An exploratory action research study. Sport Psycholo-

gist, 26(3), 390–411.

Parent, S., & Hlimi, K. (2013). Athlete protection in Quebec’s sport

system: Assessments, problems, and challenges. Journal of Sport

& Social Issues, 37(3), 284–296.

Petersen, T. S. (2010). What makes a good sports parent? Ethics, the

parent–child relationship, and sport. Ettik I Praksis, 4(1), 23–37.

Sagar, S., & Lavalee, D. (2010). The developmental origins of fear of

failure in adolescent athletes: Examining parental practices.

Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 11(3), 177–187.

Schwartz, M. S. (2013). Developing and sustaining an ethical

corporate culture: The core elements. Business Horizons, 56,

39–50.

Simon, R. L. (1991). Fair play. Sports, values, and society. Boulder:

Westview Press.

Singh, J. B. (2006). A comparison of the contents of the codes of

ethics of Canada’s largest corporations in 1992 and 2003.

Journal of Business Ethics, 64, 17–29.

Singh, J. B. (2011). Determinants of the effectiveness of corporate

codes of ethics: An empirical study. Journal of Business Ethics,

101, 385–395.

Smith, A. C. T., & Stewart, B. (2010). The special features of sport: A

critical revisit. Sport Management Review, 13, 1–13.

Stirling, A. E., Bridges, E. J., Cruz, E. L., & Mountjoy, M. L. (2011).

Canadian Academy of Sport and Exercise Medicine position

paper: Abuse, harassment, and bullying in sport. Clinical

Journal of Sports Medicine, 21(5), 385–391.

Somers, M. J. (2001). Ethical codes of conduct and organizational

context: A study of the relationship between codes of conduct,

employee behavior and organizational values. Journal of Busi-

ness Ethics, 30, 185–195.

Tucker, L. R., Stathakopolous, V., & Patti, C. H. (1999). A

multidimensional assessment of ethical codes: The professional

business association perspective. Journal of Business Ethics, 19,

287–300.

Wagner-Egger, P., Gygax, P., & Ribordy, F. (2012). Racism in

soccer? Perception of challenges of Black and White players by

white referees, soccer players, and fans. Perceptual and Motor

Skills, 114(1), 275–289.

Weber, R. (2009). Protection of children in competitive sport.

International Review for the Sociology of Sport, 44(1), 55–69.

Webley, S., & Werner, A. (2008). Corporate codes of ethics:

necessary but not sufficient. Business Ethics: A European

Review, 17(4), 405–415.

Wiley, C. (2000). Ethical standards for human resource management

professionals: A comparative analysis of five major codes.

Journal of Business Ethics, 25(9), 93–114.

598 E. De Waegeneer et al.

123

Ethical Codes in Sports Organizations: Classification Framework, Content Analysis, and the Influence of Content on Code Effectiveness

Abstract

Introduction

Framework

Length and Focus of the Code

Thematic Content

Ethical Orientation

Tone

Comprehension Aids

Procedural Content

Target Audience

Methodology

Content Analysis of Ethical Codes in Sports Organizations

Influence of Code Content on Effectiveness

Results

Content Analysis

Influence of Code Content on Effectiveness

Discussion

Conclusion

References

Collepals.com Plagiarism Free Papers

Are you looking for custom essay writing service or even dissertation writing services? Just request for our write my paper service, and we'll match you with the best essay writer in your subject! With an exceptional team of professional academic experts in a wide range of subjects, we can guarantee you an unrivaled quality of custom-written papers.

Get ZERO PLAGIARISM, HUMAN WRITTEN ESSAYS

Why Hire Collepals.com writers to do your paper?

Quality- We are experienced and have access to ample research materials.

We write plagiarism Free Content

Confidential- We never share or sell your personal information to third parties.

Support-Chat with us today! We are always waiting to answer all your questions.

Ethical Codes in Sports Organizations: Classification Framework, Content Analysis, and the Influence of Content on Code Effectiveness

Related Posts

Select two to three organizations for consideration for your capstone project’s feasibility study

Impulse control and conduct disorder

John Doe has decided to clone himself. He is sterile