Abstract
To the perennial question of why and how people obey, organizational and political theories usually offer a restricted vision mainly based on interpersonal power processes and organizational control mechanisms. Although such theories are useful, the recent evolution of business organizations toward post-bureaucratic models means they must be combined with another dimension that we call 'moral obedience'. In this article, we suggest that morality is developing in managerial strategies as business contexts become more and more fragile, uncertain and threatened. We argue that this 'moral movement' may be pervasive in hybrid political regimes of governance combining democratic and bureaucratic aspects. The purpose of business leaders is to create loosened communities where people should feel a sense of duty and where, at the same time, a sense of being unique and competitive should remain strongly embedded in individual rationales.