Emerging market entrepreneurs’ narratives on managing business ethical misconduct

Orientation South Africa’s entrepreneurial landscape faces multiple challenges that minimise the growth of established firms. Ethical misconduct is one of the main challenges entrepreneurs encounter in their business activities.Research purpose To gain deeper insight into the entrepreneurs’ narratives of the types and management of ethical misconduct when engaging in entrepreneurial activities.Motivation for the study Entrepreneurs are central to economic development and alleviating challenges, such as poverty, employment creation and economic inclusion. Therefore, managing challenges that hinder their growth will contribute to the country’s economic development.Research design, approach and method This study used narrative qualitative research to gather data on business ethical misconduct types and their management strategies. A sample of 17 established entrepreneurs participated in semi-structured interviews.Main findings The narrative thematic analysis reveals the two types of ethical misconduct as those directly or personally experienced by entrepreneurs and those observed by how other entrepreneurs engage in business with various stakeholders. The type of ethical misconduct (direct experience or observed) leads to specific strategies to manage ethical misconduct. One of the main strategies is the influence of the entrepreneurs’ value system on the organisational responses. Thus, entrepreneurs’ values spill over into organisational strategies, which are selective engagement, organisational value system, organisational policies and technical detection and support used to manage ethical misconduct.Practical/managerial implications This study provides an ethical misconduct management framework that entrepreneurs could use in business practice and teaching.Contribution/value-add This study contributes to entrepreneurial ethics literature and South African entrepreneurship knowledge development.