e-Toll Roads: Analysing a Case of Collective Moral Disengagement in an e-Government Project

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.23962/10539/19280

Keywords:

decision-making, e-government, ethics, e-tolls, moral disengagement, transparency and accountability

Abstract

Analysing a Case of Collective Moral Disengagement in an e-Government Project

References

Ali, N. (2012). Replying affidavit. In the Constitutional Court of South Africa. Case No: 38/12. Retrieved 25 July, 2012, from OUTA website: http://www.outa.co.za/site/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/SA.

Allmon, D.E., Page, D. & Roberts, R. (2000). Determinants of perceptions of cheating: Ethical orientation, personality and demographics. Journal of Business Ethics, 23(4), pp. 411-422. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1006087104087

Bandura, A. (2007). Impeding ecological sustainability through selective moral disengagement. International Journal of Innovation and Sustainable Development, 2(1), pp. 8-35.

Bandura, A. (2004). The role of selective moral disengagement in terrorism and counterterrorism. Understanding terrorism: Psychosocial roots, consequences, and interventions, pp.121-150.

Bandura, A. (1991). Social cognitive theory of moral thought and action. Handbook of moral behavior and development, pp. 45-103.

Bandura, A. (1990). Selective activation and disengagement of moral control. Journal of Social Issues, 46(1), pp. 27-46. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-4560.1990.tb00270.x

Bandura, A., Barbaranelli, C., Caprara, G.V. & Pastorelli, C. (1996). Mechanisms of moral disengagement in the exercise of moral agency. Journal of personality and social psychology, 71(2), pp. 364-374. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.71.2.364

Bandura, A., Caprara, G.V. & Zsolnai, L. (2000). Corporate transgressions through moral disengagement. Journal of Human Values, 6(1), pp. 57-64.

Bannister, F. & Lalor, S. (2001). Public service values: towards an ethical framework for e-Government. Proceedings of the European Conference on e-Government, Trinity College Dublin.

Beu, D.S. & Buckley, M.R. (2004). This is war: how the politically astute achieve crimes of obedience through the use of moral disengagement. The Leadership Quarterly, 15(4), pp. 551-568. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.leaqua.2004.05.007

Bizcommunity.com (2012). Fiscus can't sustain uncertainty says Gordhan. Retrieved 5 November, 2012, from http://www.bizcommunity.com/Article/196/582/84709.html#comments.

Caprara, G.V., Fida, R., Vecchione, M., Tramontano, C., & Barbaranelli, C. (2009). Assessing civic moral disengagement: dimensionality and construct validity. Personality and individual differences, 47(5), pp. 504-509. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2009.04.027

Castells, M. (2007). Communication, power and counter-power in the network society. International Journal of Communication, 1(1), pp. 238-66.

Cialdini, R.B. (1993). Influence: The psychology of persuasion: HarperCollins.

COSATU (2012). Parliamentary public hearings on e-toll Amendment Bill (press release). Retrieved 30 November, 2012, from http://www.cosatu.org.za/show.php?ID=6717#sthash.4VFVDcE8.dpuf.

Darke, P., Shanks, G. & Broadbent, M. (1998). Successfully completing case study research: combining rigour, relevance and pragmatism. Information Systems Journal, 8(4), pp. 273-289. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2575.1998.00040.x

De Hoogh, A.H. & Den Hartog, D.N. (2008). Ethical and despotic leadership, relationships with leader's social responsibility, top management team effectiveness and subordinates' optimism: A multi-method study. The Leadership Quarterly, 19(3), pp. 297-311. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.leaqua.2008.03.002

Gauld, R. & Goldfinch, S. (2006). Dangerous enthusiasms: e-Government, computer failure and information systems development, Dunedin: University of Otago Press.

Goldberg, S.R. & Centers, D.P. (2012). Why most audit ethics courses don't work. Journal of Corporate Accounting & Finance, 23(4), pp. 23-29. https://doi.org/10.1002/jcaf.21767

Gordhan, P. (2012). Replying affidavit. In the Constitutional Court of South Africa. Case No: 38/12. Retrieved 25 July, 2012, from OUTA Website: http://www.outa.co.za/site/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/SA.

Graduate School of Business (2010). An economic analysis of the Gauteng freeway improvement scheme (PDF Report), University of Cape Town, Cape Town. Retrieved 30 November, 2012, from National Roads Agency Website: http://www.nra.co.za/content/Gauteng_GFIP_final_economic_report.pdf.

Guba, E.G. & Lincoln, Y.S. (1985). Naturalistic inquiry, Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.

Heeks, R. & Bailur, S. (2007). Analyzing e-government research: Perspectives, philosophies, theories, methods, and practice. Government Information Quarterly, 24(2), pp. 243-265. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.giq.2006.05.005

Hinrichs, K.T. (2007). Follower propensity to commit crimes of obedience. The role of readership beliefs. Journal of leadership & organizational studies, 14(1), pp. 69-76. https://doi.org/10.1177/1071791907304282

Hsieh, H. F., & Shannon, S. E. (2005). Three approaches to qualitative content analysis. Qualitative health research, 15(9), pp. 1277-1288. https://doi.org/10.1177/1049732305276687

Irani, Z., Love, P.E., Elliman, T., Jones, S. & Themistocleous, M. (2005). Evaluating e-government: learning from the experiences of two UK local authorities. Information Systems Journal, 15(1), pp. 61-82. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2575.2005.00185.x

Jones, T.M. (1991). Ethical decision making by individuals in organizations: An issue-contingent model. Academy of management review, pp. 366-395. https://doi.org/10.2307/258867

Jurik, N.C. (2004). Imagining justice: Challenging the privatization of public life. Soc. Prob., 51(1), pp. 1-15. https://doi.org/10.1525/sp.2004.51.1.1

Justice Project South Africa (2012a). Sanral draft legislation “ridiculous” (press release). Retrieved 25 July, 2012, from http://www.jp-sa.org/media.asp.

Justice Project South Africa (2012b). Stop the threats! (press release). Retrieved 25 July, 2012, from http://www.jp-sa.org/media.asp.

Justice Project South Africa (2012c). SANRAL tariffs tantamount to intimidation & extortion (press release). Retrieved 25 July, 2012, from http://www.jp-sa.org/media.asp.

Justice Project South Africa (2011). Transport Minister instructs Sanral to halt work on toll roads (press release). Retrieved 25 July, 2012, from http://www.jp-sa.org/media.asp.

Kohlberg, L. (1976). Moral stages and moralization: The cognitive-developmental approach. moral development and behavior: theory, research, and social issues, pp. 31-53.

Kohlberg, L. (1984). The Psychology of moral development: The nature and validity of noral stages, San Francisco, Harper & Row.

Kupe, T. & Okello, D. (2012). Perspective on a decade of e-government in Africa: editorial. The African Journal of Information and Communication, 12. pp. v-vi. https://doi.org/10.23962/10539/19744

Land, F. (2000). Evaluation in a socio-technical context. Organizational and social perspectives on information technology, 41, p.115.

Leye, V. (2007). UNESCO, ICT corporations and the passion of ICT for development: modernization resurrected. Media, Culture & Society, 29(6), pp. 972-993. https://doi.org/10.1177/0163443707084348

Marche, S. & McNiven, J.D. (2003). e-Government and e-Governance: The future isn't what it used to be. Canadian Journal of Administrative Sciences, 20(1), 74-86. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1936-4490.2003.tb00306.x

Mather, M., Shafir, E. & Johnson, M.K. (2000). Misremembrance of options past: Source monitoring and choice. Psychological Science, 11(2), pp. 132-138. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9280.00228

McAlister, A.L., Bandura, A. & Owen, S.V. (2006). Mechanisms of moral disengagement in support of military force: The impact of Sept. 11. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 25(2), pp. 141-165. https://doi.org/10.1521/jscp.2006.25.2.141

Ngoepe, K. (2012). e-Toll public hearings leave motorists hot under the collar. Retrieved 30 November, 2012, from Pretoria News: http://www.iol.co.za/pretoria-news/e-toll-public-hearings-leave-motorists-hot-under-the-collar-1.1424368.

Ochara, N. (2008). Emergence of the e-Government artifact in an environment of social exclusion in Kenya, The African Journal of Information Systems 1(1), pp.18-43. https://doi.org/10.17705/1CAIS.02213

OECD (2003). Checklist for e-Government leaders. Retrieved October 1, 2013, from http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/62/58/11923037.pdf.

OUTA (2012a). OUTA requests e-toll talks turn to action (press release). Retrieved 25 July, 2012 from http://www.outa.co.za/site/category/news/.OUTA (2012b). Supplementary founding afidavit. In The North Gauteng High Court, Pretoria (Republic Of South Africa) Case No. 17141/12. Retrieved 25 July, 2012, from OUTA Website: http://www.outa.co.za/site/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/SA.

Paharia, N. & Deshpandé, R. (2009). Sweatshop labor is wrong unless the jeans are cute: Motivated moral disengagement, Working Paper, Harvard Business School.

Peterson, D.K. (2004). The relationship between perceptions of corporate citizenship and organizational commitment. Business & Society, 43(3), pp. 296-319. https://doi.org/10.1177/0007650304268065

Rasool, F. (2012). t-Tolling: It's all about the money. In IT in Government. Retrieved 25 July, 2012, from http://www.itweb.co.za/index.php?option=com_content&view=author&id=8316.

Rest, J., Narvaez, D., Bebeau, M.J. & Thoma, S. (1999). Postconventional moral thinking: A neo-Kohlbergian approach, Mahway, NJ: Erlbaum.Rest, J.R. & Barnett, R. (1986). Moral development: Advances in research and theory, Praeger New York.

Rose-Ackerman, S. (2002). “Grand” corruption and the ethics of global business. Journal of Banking & Finance, 26(9), pp. 1889-1918. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0378-4266(02)00197-8

Rose-Ackerman, S. (1999). Political Corruption and Democracy. Conn. J. Int'l L.,14, pp. 363-378.

Ruddin, L.P. (2006). You can generalize stupid! Social scientists, Bent Flyvbjerg, and case study methodology. Qualitative Inquiry, 12(4), pp. 797-812. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077800406288622

Sankaree, D. (interviewer) and Ali, N. (Interviewee). (2012). Gauteng tolls (interview transcript). Retrieved 30 November, 2012, from MNet Carte Blanche website: http://beta.mnet.co.za/mnetvideo/BrowseVideo.aspx?ChannelId=1&vid=25277.

Sankaree, D. (interviewer) and Botha, R. (interviewee) (2012). Toll strikes. (interview transcript). Retrieved 30 November, 2012, from MNet Carte Blanche website: http://beta.mnet.co.za/carteblanche/Article.aspx?Id=3904&ShowId=1.

Sankaree, D. (interviewer) and Mseleku, S. (interviewee). (2012). Toll strikes. (interview transcript). Retrieved 30 November, 2012, from MNet Carte Blanche website: http://beta.mnet.co.za/mnetvideo/BrowseVideo.aspx?ChannelId=1&vid=25277.

SANRAL (2012a). The South African National Roads Agency Limited and National Roads Act Regulations Act (Government notice). Retrieved 25 July, 2012, from http://savrala.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/South-African-National-Roads-Agency-Limited-and-National-Roads-Act-Regulations-Draft.pdf.

SANRAL (2012b). e-Toll options for individuals. Retrieved 30 November, 2012, from http://www.sanral.co.za/e-toll/index.php?gort_xml+template~~menu/main~~L1_2082.

SANRAL (2012c). Answering affidavit. In The North Gauteng High Court, Pretoria (Republic Of South Africa) Case No. 17141/12. Retrieved 25 July, 2012, from OUTA website: http://www.outa.co.za/site/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/SA.

SAPA (2012a). Sanral defends e-toll contracts. In Motoring Industry News. Retrieved 30 November, 2012, from http://www.iol.co.za/motoring/industry-news/sanral-defends-e-toll-contracts.

SAPA (2012b). Public must know toll details – Outa. In Engineering News. Retrieved 30 November, 2012, from http://www.engineeringnews.co.za/author.php?u_id=1031.

Savas, E.S. & Schubert, A. (1987). Privatization: The key to better government, NJ: Chatham House.

Shu, L.L., Gino, F. & Bazerman, M.H. (2011). Dishonest deed, clear conscience: When cheating leads to moral disengagement and motivated forgetting. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 37(3), pp. 330-349. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167211398138

Sims, R. (2009). Toward a better understanding of organizational efforts to rebuild reputation following an ethical scandal. Journal of Business Ethics, 90(4), 453-472. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-009-0058-4

South African Government Online (2012). Transcript of questions and answers at media briefing by Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe on the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project (press release). Retrieved 30 November, 2012, from South African Government Online: http://www.info.gov.za/speech/DynamicAction?pageid=461&sid=28003&tid=70934.

South African Government Online (2011). Statement by Minister of Transport Mr Sibusiso Ndebele, MP, at the media briefing on the formation of the Gauteng Toll Steering Committee, held at Parliament, Cape Town (press release). Retrieved 30 November, 2012, from South African Government Online: http://www.info.gov.za/speech/DynamicAction?pageid=46.

Tenbrunsel, A.E., Diekmann, K.A., Wade-Benzoni, K.A. & Bazerman, M.H. (2010). The ethical mirage: A temporal explanation as to why we are not as ethical as we think we are. Research in Organizational Behavior, 30, pp. 153-173. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.riob.2010.08.004

Thornton, E. (2007). Roads to riches. Business Week. Retrieved 25 July, 2012, from: http://www.businessweek.com/stories/2007-05-06/roads-to-riches.

Van Slyke, D.M. (2003). The mythology of privatization in contracting for social services. Public Administration Review, 63(3), pp. 296-315.Vavi, Z. (2012). E-tolls a burden to the poor. Retrieved 25 July, 2012, from Sunday Independent: http://www.iol.co.za/sundayindependent/e-tolls-a-burden-to-the-poor-vavi-1.1254152#.UmT8Ah2KKuI.

Walsham, G. (1999). Interpretive evaluation design for information systems. In L. Wilcocks and S. Lester (Eds.), Beyond the productivity paradox (pp. 362-380). West Sussex, UK, Wiley.

Walsham, G. (2012). Are we making a better world with ICT? Reflections on a future agenda for the IS field. Journal of Information Technology, 27(2), pp. 87-93. https://doi.org/10.1057/jit.2012.4

White, J., Bandura, A. & Bero, L.A. (2009). Moral disengagement in the corporate world. Accountability in research, 16(1), pp. 41-74.

Yildiz, M. (2007). e-Government research: Reviewing the literature, limitations, and ways forward. Government Information Quarterly, 24(3), pp. 646-665.

Yin, R.K. (2008). Case study research: Design and methods, California, US: Sage.

Published

15-12-2013

Issue

Section

Challenges in leadership of ict policy and e-development

How to Cite

Naidoo, R. (2013) “e-Toll Roads: Analysing a Case of Collective Moral Disengagement in an e-Government Project”, The African Journal of Information and Communication (AJIC) [Preprint], (13). doi:10.23962/10539/19280.
Views
  • Abstract 215