Tech Ethics, Organizational Values, and Ethical Work: Insights from a Qualitative Study of Five UK-Based Digital Technology Businesses

Abstract The ethical challenges raised by the reach of digital technologies into all aspects of life highlight the moral role of the technology industry in modern society. While there is great potential for good, irresponsible development and commercialisation efforts can result in serious harm. As digital technologies and artificial intelligence become increasingly ubiquitous, technology companies face pressure from government and civil society to take their moral responsibility seriously. This paper takes a novel, virtue-ethical approach to the role and contribution of the values of technology firms. Rather than focusing on regulation, it considers how organisational values might support ethical decisions and moral conduct among employees. The paper presents findings of a qualitative study, which reveals how enacted organisational values within five technology companies support the establishment of an ethical culture that guides moral conduct. Based on our reflective thematic analysis of 30 interviews with UK employees, we identify three themes for the effective use of organisational values and the establishment of an ethical workplace culture: (i) “A lot of really, really good shiny examples”, (ii) Values should ‘talk the walk’, and (iii) “You can’t have a value if you don’t believe in it fully”. According to participant accounts, technology companies can successfully encourage moral conduct through effective use of organisational values.