2022

Syrén, Heljä

Several studies have sought to explain the process that led to the disaster of Enron Corporation in 2001. In order to investigate the role of business ethics and accounting in this case, we draw on social psychology, especially the theory of Lucifer-effect (Zimbardo, 2008). Our data comprise nine published research articles and a document film concerning the Enron case. Our findings suggest that situational factors, such as diffusion of personal responsibility, authority, inaction and group pressure explain how and why the evil went further and further within and beyond organizational boundaries and why accounting controls failed in this process. We contribute to the scarce knowledge on the ethical issues that accounting professionals may face.