16178: Is It Possible? Fairness as a Goal in Organizational Decision-Making

This symposium builds upon showcase symposiums on multiple goals held at the 2023 and 2024 Academy of Management. Expanding on the foundational work of Cyert and March (1963) and Simon (1972) on the challenges of managing multiple goals, this session focuses on the feasibility and implementation of fairness as an organizational objective. While firms are traditionally guided by profit-maximizing principles, this symposium explores whether fairness can evolve from an aspirational ideal or marketing slogan into a concrete and actionable organizational goal. We aim to address these core questions: 1. Is fairness a realistic and achievable goal in an organization? What are the key obstacles to its realization? 2. What specific, actionable practices can organizations adopt to prioritize fairness as a guiding principle? We will delve into the practical challenges and opportunities of embedding fairness into areas such as employee management, resource allocation, and stakeholder engagement. With empirical evidence and theoretical insights, panelists shed light on the tensions and synergies between fairness and other organizational goals, such as efficiency and competitiveness. The panelists with diverse disciplinary backgrounds, including organizational theory, strategy, labor economics, and psychology, will debate how fairness-oriented practices influence critical outcomes, including employee morale, customer trust, and long-term sustainability. They will conclude by exploring whether fairness can be systematically integrated into organizational cultures and governance structures, offering actionable pathways for research and practice. This symposium will reflect on advancements in this rapidly growing area of research and chart future research trajectories in the pursuit of fairness as an organizational goal.