Everyday ethical decisions in business – A structure and agency perspective

This study explores how everyday ethical decisions in business emerge through the interplay of individual agency and organisational structures. Drawing on structuration theory and descriptive ethics, we argue that ethical decision-making is neither solely a matter of personal cognition nor entirely determined by structural norms. Using qualitative data from interviews across diverse industries, we conceptualise ethical practice as a dynamic process situated within a field of possibility defined by two dimensions: ethical agency and structural influence . Our findings reveal four relational configurations of ethical agency and identify a spectrum, spanning free ethical agency to constrained ethical agency, where ethical engagement is most productive. We introduce the concept of a dynamic ethical equilibrium to explain how decision-makers sustain ethical awareness under structural pressures. This relational perspective advances theory by integrating micro-, meso-, and macro-level influences, offering a nuanced lens for understanding and fostering ethical behaviour in organisational contexts. • Ethical decisions emerge from interplay of agency and structural influence. • Introduces the concept of dynamic ethical equilibrium for sustained ethical engagement. • Proposes a 2x2 relational matrix mapping ethical agency and structural influence. • Identifies optimal ethical spectrum spanning free and constrained ethical agency.