Navigating Value Conflicts: How Developers at Varied Levels of Moral Development Approach Decision-Making in Information Systems Development
Authors: Durani, Khalid; Eckhardt, Andreas; Kollmer, Tim
Journal: Journal of the Association for Information Systems (2025)
DOI: 10.17705/1jais.00949
<jats:p>Information systems development frequently involves value conflicts (e.g., reconciling compliance requirements with user autonomy), thereby requiring developers to engage in moral decision-making regarding what is desirable, right, and just. Drawing on the theory of moral development, this study examines how developers—whose moral reasoning emphasizes self-interest (pre-conventional), maintaining social norms (conventional), or higher-order principles (post-conventional)—navigate these conflicts. We identify varying moral decision-making patterns among developers at the pre-conventional, conventional, and post-conventional levels, structured around four interrelated themes: (1) problem framing, (2) solution conceptualization, (3) responsibility orientation, and (4) duty fulfillment. Our analysis further indicates the pivotal role of developers’ responsibility orientation in guiding moral decision-making. Specifically, this orientation encompasses how developers attribute causal responsibility (e.g., assigning blame) in framing problems, allocate accountability (e.g., taking ownership) in conceptualizing solutions, and balance obligations (e.g., honoring commitments) in ful…