e-space
Manchester Metropolitan University's Research Repository

    Ethical implications of network data in business and management settings

    Cronin, Bruce, Perra, Nicola, Rocha, Luis Enrique Correa ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9046-8739, Zhu, Zhen ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0258-1454, Pallotti, Francesca, Gorgoni, Sara, Conaldi, Guido ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3552-7307 and De Vita, Riccardo (2021) Ethical implications of network data in business and management settings. Social Networks, 67. pp. 29-40. ISSN 0378-8733

    [img]
    Preview
    Accepted Version
    Available under License Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial No Derivatives.

    Download (398kB) | Preview

    Abstract

    Reflecting on the compilation and analysis of a range of network datasets drawn from our own work and some prominent examples, we consider the ethical challenges in dealing with network data in business and management settings. We argue that the managerial processes that characterize such settings introduce particular ethical sensitivities in the stages of commissioning and research design, and when collecting, analyzing and reporting network data. These sensitivities arise from the imperatives of business, motivations for commissioning network analyses and the legal authority that managers have over employees. We argue that ethical considerations are much more pervasive in business and management network research than in many other fields. In this contribution, we present a range of ethical challenges in network research in business and management settings that arise at several stages of the research process. For each issue identified, we describe the ethical problem and propose mitigation remedies. From this reflection, we suggest guidelines for other researchers to consider when designing research projects in this application area.

    Impact and Reach

    Statistics

    Activity Overview
    6 month trend
    156Downloads
    6 month trend
    23Hits

    Additional statistics for this dataset are available via IRStats2.

    Altmetric

    Repository staff only

    Edit record Edit record