On NGOs’ Role in the Development of Business Ethics in Slovakia

Abstract

The socio-economic transformation after the fall of communism in Slovakia took place without anchoring new economic subjects in corporate social responsibility. Private companies and state authorities showed little interest in business ethics, so it stayed marginalized. Now, after more than two decades of development for business ethics in Slovakia, an absence of a systematic support for business ethics still pertains. Nonetheless, some initiatives have already been implemented to sustain ethics in business and typically the impetus for these initiatives was given by non-governmental organizations (NGOs). This paper investigates the influence of nine prominent NGOs operating in Slovakia on the development of business ethics in the current Slovak business environment. Based on in-depth analysis of NGOs’ documentation to projects undertaken in Slovakia throughout the last two decades and semi-structured interviews with the respective NGOs’ leaders, the article critically analyzes the nature, scope and effects of NGOs’ activities with respect to the advancement of business ethics in companies in Slovakia. Results of this qualitative inquiry suggest NGOs’ activities add value mainly on the macro level, i.e. focusing on the fight against corruption, anti-social and illegal activities in state and public administration, promoting democracy and transparency. There are also several inspirational initiatives to expand business ethics on the mezzo level, such as guidelines for introducing corporate codes of ethics, a corporate governance code, an anti-corruption charter, or whistle-blowing channels. There is no doubt these initiatives are important because every stimulus for integrating ethics and economics is rare and valuable in Slovak cultural conditions. However, activities of NGOs lack a broader view of the necessity of ethical regulation in business. In particular, results indicate shortage of attention to the control of illegal and unethical activity within the company, to unethical leadership and related negligence of the tone at the top of companies.

Keywords

• business ethics
• cee
• compliance
• ethical regulation
• ngos
• slovakia