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Ethical values in business decisions

Last registered on October 13, 2025
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Ethical values in business decisions
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0016953
Initial registration date
October 07, 2025

Initial registration date is when the trial was registered.

It corresponds to when the registration was submitted to the Registry to be reviewed for publication.

First published
October 13, 2025, 9:51 AM EDT

First published corresponds to when the trial was first made public on the Registry after being reviewed.

Locations

Country
United States of America
Region

Primary Investigator

Name
Luigi Zingales
Affiliation
University of Chicago
Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Luigi Zingales
PI Affiliation
Booth School of Business, The University of Chicago
Contact Investigator
PI Name
Oliver Hart
PI Affiliation
Harvard University
Contact Investigator
PI Name
Emanuele Licari
PI Affiliation
Booth School of Business, The University of Chicago
Contact Investigator

Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2025-10-15
End date
2025-11-10
Keywords
Behavior, Finance & Microfinance, Firms & Productivity
Additional Keywords
JEL code(s)
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
Can corporations do evil without being run by evil people? If so, why? This study explores these questions through a survey experiment. Participants face a moral trade-off involving a financially beneficial yet ethically costly decision. The experimental design randomly varies contextual and structural features of the decision to examine how each factor influences the decision-making process. In addition, we aim to analyze individual heterogeneity using measures from moral psychology to understand why participants differ in their responses. The goal is to shed light on how context and incentives shape moral judgment.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Hart, Oliver et al. 2025. "Ethical values in business decisions." AEA RCT Registry. October 13. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.16953-1.0
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Intervention Start Date
2025-10-15
Intervention End Date
2025-11-10

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
We intend to use the responses of the survey to answer a number of questions about the drivers of such a decision-making process. Such questions include, but are not limited to, the following:

- Other things being equal, are business decisions affected by the context in which they are made?
- How are decision-makers affected by whether they personally earn money out of the campaign?
- Do respondents feel responsible for the negative consequences of the campaign? Do they implement some cost-benefit analysis?
- Does the number of individuals the decision is shared with impact the decision-making process (in the case of shareholders)?
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
We intend to disseminate the survey through a professional polling firm.
Experimental Design Details
Not available
Randomization Method
Randomization done by Qualtrics
Randomization Unit
Individual
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
Single group of individuals
Sample size: planned number of observations
3,000
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
500
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
The University of Chicago IRB
IRB Approval Date
2025-03-26
IRB Approval Number
IRB24-1460
Analysis Plan