Abstract
The building of Corporate Ethical Identity, a process referred to as "ethicalization," is an important
strategic imperative and represents an integral part of a firm’s attempts to build a strong corporate
identity across its various stakeholders. This article focuses on ethicalization at SAB Ltd (South
Africa’s leading producer and distributor of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, and one of the
nation’s largest manufacturing firms) and the impact of its efforts on supplier perceptions. Leaders
and managers must consider six factors that drive the formation of ethical identity across an
organization’s stakeholders: trusted relationships; organizational citizenship; development and
enforcement of ethical policy; procurement contracting; provision of information; and procurement
administration.