What Is “Integrity Capital?”

And like, can it make you more money?

Most managers would probably snarl or hiss at you if you used the term “integrity capital,” but it might have some validity.

Basically: we’ve got some research that companies who act with more empathy can make more money. Good! There are also some ideas that more compassionate workplaces make more money. Also good!

So “integrity capital” — i.e. the idea of acting ethically/behaving with integrity — could maybe also be tied to real revenue increases? Let’s try this theory out.

Integrity capital and Northwestern research

Here’s some research on integrity capital from the good people at Northwestern University, including this part:

“But if there is no cost to claiming things about your culture that aren’t true, then does it create any value for the company?” Sapienza asks. “We found that the answer is yes.” Companies for which the employees did evince a strong culture of integrity were associated with stronger economic performance: a higher Tobin’s q ratio, better profits, and lower levels of unionization. “Maybe a higher level of trust is a good substitute for unionized labor relations, or maybe it is the other way around: management of firms with fewer unions is perceived as…