Translating Business Ethics into Practice: How Business Ethics Consultants Drive Ethical Change in Digital Work Environments

Abstract This paper investigates the role of business ethics consultants in translating business ethics into practical solutions within organizations. Despite the wealth of research on business ethics, practitioners often report difficulty in applying academic insights in their organizational context. To bridge this gap, organizations often engage external ethics consultants to help translate theory into practical solutions for navigating challenging ethical situations. Through 17 semi-structured interviews with ethics consultants who work in digital work environments, we developed the Assessment-Calibration-Synchronization framework, demonstrating how their translation work renders business ethics knowledge relevant and adoptable for their clients. This framework encompasses three phases: assessing ethical context, calibrating strategies to organizational goals, and synchronizing ethical practices. Our study contributes to the business ethics literature by offering insights into how ethics consultants translate business ethics into practice and promote ethical change. This research also offers practical guidance for organizations seeking to improve their ethical practices and for ethics consultants aiming to enhance their impact in corporate settings.