ABSTRACT
Research Objective: To develop an institutional and appreciative analysis applied to the study of the institutional pillars associated with a code of conduct proposed to a non-governmental organization (NGO). Theoretical framework: Neoinstitutionalism and Appreciative Inquiry (AI) provided support for the analysis of the institutional pillars of a code of conduct. Methodology: A descriptive-exploratory, explanatory and interpretive research was developed, with a qualitative approach. An appreciative-based protocol was adopted to support the 5-D model in the collection and analysis of data obtained from the collaborative research group. A program of interviews and workshops was conducted with the support of electronic technologies/ remotes, due to COVID-19. Originality:The paper presents the combination of neo-institutionalism and AI put into practice through a dialogical-reflexive research strategy facilitating ethical-collective engagement around the code of conduct to be adopted by a NGO. Results:The logical design of the research allowed evidence of the elements pertinent to each institutional pillar connected to the code of conduct, namely: (a) regulatory - legislation influential in the internal processes of the NGO studied;(b) normative - values and norms that make explicit the beliefs, interests and visions of the participants, providing legitimacy to their social and moral base;(c) cultural-cognitive - conceptions shared together with the patterns of meanings attributed to the future code of conduct..ese elements were products of an appreciative and interactionist dynamic, obtaining the integration between the compliance program and the code of conduct, according to the proper stage of institutionalization found in them. Theoretical and practical contributions: The article develops a study agenda that has produced important insights into how the institutional pillars of a code of conduct can be built in a NGO, based on an appreciative ethos used in the empirical study.