Organizational Codes of Ethics: Concepts, Methods and Challenges

Code of ethics  is  recognized  as  one of the most significant tools in preventing unethical organizational behaviors and satisfying the needs of both internal and external organizational stakeholders.  The purpose of this study is to focus on previous studies and    provide a systematic review of the related  literature  published  from 1977 to 2012 in academic journals in order to determine the gaps, strengths  and weaknesses of these studies. To achieve this end we  examined  the existing literature in terms of the publication trends, their purpose of  studies, the focus of themes and contents, methodologies and  findings  as well as  their contribution and managerial implication. The findings of this paper suggest that in order to improving the literature upon the organizational code of ethics worldwide,  comparative and cross-cultural studies with diverse use of statistical samples as well as qualitative methods has to be emphasized.