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In the complex network of human relationships, choosing to show allegiance to someone often shapes decisions and actions. But what happens when loyalty to one friend extends to their connections?

New research from the Cornell SC Johnson College of Business explores how the quality and strength of one's loyalty to another can be influenced by the willingness to support an indirect tie, even when the outsider has been accused of unethical behavior. The paper, "When Your Friend is My Friend: How Loyalty Prompts Support for Indirect Ties in Moral Dilemmas," was published in Organization Science.

Angus Hildreth, assistant professor at the Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management, and Zachariah Berry, Ph.D. '24, assistant professor of management and organization at the University of Southern California Marshall School of Business, pursued the research because they were interested in understanding why certain people get away with wrongdoing over long periods of time.

"We were interested in why individuals like Harvey Weinstein, Jeffrey Epstein, and even those with no power, can get away with unethical behavior and why no one steps forward to blow the whistle," Hildreth said. "It seems intuitive that loyalty might explain why close friends wouldn't come forward, but it's less obvious why those who aren't directly connected to perpetrators wouldn't step forward."

The researchers surmised it might be because loyalty—or, more specifically, the obligations of loyalty to direct ties, such as colleagues and friends—might transfer through a person's network to other ties, and that this might explain why indirect ties don't raise an alarm.

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