Supply and Demand in the Development of Coaching Professional Ethics

While all business and service providers should be guided by general ethical obligations, some—professions—possess special ethical codes, supported and/or enforced by professional associations. How do professions differ from other service providers, such that their services both require, and can deliver, high ethical standards? Previous research has explored the development of professional ethics through an examination of demand-side factors (the various stakeholders whose needs drive them to demand high ethical standards of service providers) and supply-side factors (the motivational structures that empower service providers to conscientiously live up to those high ethical standards). This paper applies this framework to explore the need for special ethical standards for coaches, and the social and psychological resources coaches have for delivering on those standards.