A Failure of Culture and Leadership: The Volkswagen Emissions Scandal and its Uncertain Aftermath
Abstract
The Volkswagen emissions scandal - dubbed “Dieselgate” - has become a defining case of how deeply embedded organizational culture and leadership practices can precipitate ethical collapse. In his analysis published by the Satell Institute, Professor Robert C. Bird with the University of Connecticut offers a sobering examination of the scandal and its aftermath, revealing not only the technical misconduct but the profound cultural and governance failures that allowed it to persist undetected for years. For CSR leaders, compliance professionals, and executives, this episode serves as a cautionary tale: organizational culture is not merely background context, it is a determinant of corporate behavior.
Author
Robert C. Bird is Professor of Business Law and the Eversource Energy Chair in Business Ethics at the University of Connecticut. Robert’s scholarship focuses on employment law, compliance, sustainability, and business and human rights. Robert has authored over seventy publications, including works in the Journal of Law and Economics, American Business Law Journal, Law and Society Review, Sloan Management Review, Connecticut Law Review, and the Harvard Journal of Law and Public Policy.
Keywords
corporate social responsibility, ethical collapse, misconduct, governance failures, organizational culture, corporate behavior, public trust