IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/kap/jbuset/v123y2014i2p221-233.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Are Workers More Likely to be Deviant than Managers? A Cross-National Analysis

Author

Listed:
  • Chung-wen Chen

Abstract

Using Robert Merton’s perspective on social structure [Social theory and structure. Free Press, New York, 1968], this study tested the individual-level association between job position and ethical reasoning. Anomie theory was employed to examine how country-level factors moderate that individual-level association. The hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) method was used to analyze 22,359 subjects from 28 nations. The statistical results proved that workers are more likely to justify ethically suspect behaviors, and that this individual-level relationship is moderated by the country-level factors of power distance, masculinity, social inequality, and education accessibility. These results imply that Merton’s view of social structure and contemporary anomie theorists’ perspective of anomie [Messner and Rosenfeld (Crime and the American dream. Wadsworth, Belmont, 2001 ); Rosenfeld and Messner (The future of anomie theory. Northeastern University Press, Boston, 1997 )] are mutually complementary rather than exclusive. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2014

Suggested Citation

  • Chung-wen Chen, 2014. "Are Workers More Likely to be Deviant than Managers? A Cross-National Analysis," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 123(2), pages 221-233, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:jbuset:v:123:y:2014:i:2:p:221-233
    DOI: 10.1007/s10551-013-1810-3
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1007/s10551-013-1810-3
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s10551-013-1810-3?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Andy C W Chui & Chuck C Y Kwok, 2008. "National culture and life insurance consumption," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 39(1), pages 88-101, January.
    2. Dr. Bahaudin G. Mujtaba & Prof. Dr. Talat Afza, 2011. "Business Ethics Perceptions of Public and Private Sector Respondents in Pakistan," Far East Journal of Psychology and Business, Far East Research Centre, vol. 3(1), pages 1-11, April.
    3. Naresh Khatri & Eric W K Tsang & Thomas M Begley, 2006. "Cronyism: a cross-cultural analysis," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 37(1), pages 61-75, January.
    4. Kiridaran Kanagaretnam & Chee Yeow Lim & Gerald J Lobo, 2011. "Effects of national culture on earnings quality of banks," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 42(6), pages 853-874, August.
    5. Bryan W Husted, 1999. "Wealth, Culture, and Corruption," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 30(2), pages 339-359, June.
    6. K. Parboteeah & Helena Addae & John Cullen, 2012. "Propensity to Support Sustainability Initiatives: A Cross-National Model," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 105(3), pages 403-413, February.
    7. World Bank, 2005. "World Development Indicators 2005," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 12426, December.
    8. Noel Siu & Kit-Chun Lam, 2009. "A Comparative Study of Ethical Perceptions of Managers and Non-Managers," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 88(1), pages 167-183, April.
    9. Brian Simpson, 2009. "Wealth and Income Inequality: An Economic and Ethical Analysis," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 89(4), pages 525-538, November.
    10. Bahaudin Mujtaba & Reza Tajaddini & Lisa Chen, 2011. "Business Ethics Perceptions of Public and Private Sector Iranians," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 104(3), pages 433-447, December.
    11. David A Ralston & Carolyn P Egri & María Teresa de la Garza Carranza & Prem Ramburuth & Jane Terpstra-Tong & Andre A Pekerti & Ilya Girson & Harald Herrig & Marina Dabic & Moureen Tang & Paulina Wan &, 2009. "Ethical preferences for influencing superiors: A 41-society study," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 40(6), pages 1022-1045, August.
    12. Sean Valentine & Terri Rittenburg, 2007. "The Ethical Decision Making of Men and Women Executives in International Business Situations," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 71(2), pages 125-134, March.
    13. K. Praveen Parboteeah & John B. Cullen, 2003. "Social Institutions and Work Centrality: Explorations Beyond National Culture," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 14(2), pages 137-148, April.
    14. K Praveen Parboteeah & Martin Hoegl & John B Cullen, 2008. "Managers' gender role attitudes: a country institutional profile approach," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 39(5), pages 795-813, July.
    15. Geert Hofstede, 2010. "The GLOBE debate: Back to relevance," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 41(8), pages 1339-1346, October.
    16. repec:wbk:wbpubs:12425 is not listed on IDEAS
    17. Peter B Smith, 2006. "When elephants fight, the grass gets trampled: the GLOBE and Hofstede projects," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 37(6), pages 915-921, November.
    18. Nabil Ibrahim & John Angelidis & Igor Tomic, 2009. "Managers’ Attitudes Toward Codes of Ethics: Are There Gender Differences?," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 90(3), pages 343-353, December.
    19. Treviño, Linda Klebe & Weaver, Gary R. & Brown, Michael E., 2008. "It’s Lovely at the Top: Hierarchical Levels, Identities, and Perceptions of Organizational Ethics," Business Ethics Quarterly, Cambridge University Press, vol. 18(2), pages 233-252, April.
    20. Anne Davis & Hannah Rothstein, 2006. "The Effects of the Perceived Behavioral Integrity of Managers on Employee Attitudes: A Meta-analysis," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 67(4), pages 407-419, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Mohammad, Shoeb & Husted, Bryan, 2023. "Skilled workforces and Law-abiding organizational climates in emerging markets," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 158(C).
    2. Aditya Simha & K. Praveen Parboteeah, 2020. "The Big 5 Personality Traits and Willingness to Justify Unethical Behavior—A Cross-National Examination," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 167(3), pages 451-471, December.
    3. Yongmei Liu & Sixuan Chen & Chris Bell & Justin Tan, 2020. "How Do Power and Status Differ in Predicting Unethical Decisions? A Cross-National Comparison of China and Canada," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 167(4), pages 745-760, December.
    4. Loréa Baïada-Hirèche & Ghislaine Garmilis, 2016. "Accounting Professionals’ Ethical Judgment and the Institutional Disciplinary Context: A French–US Comparison," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 139(4), pages 639-659, December.
    5. Kristine Velasquez Tuliao & Chung-wen Chen, 2019. "Economy and Supervisors’ Ethical Values: Exploring the Mediating Role of Noneconomic Institutions in a Cross-National Test of Institutional Anomie Theory," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 156(3), pages 823-838, May.
    6. Banalieva, Elitsa R. & Karam, Charlotte M. & Ralston, David A. & Elenkov, Detelin & Naoumova, Irina & Dabic, Marina & Potocan, Vojko & Starkus, Arunas & Danis, Wade & Wallace, Alan, 2017. "Communist footprint and subordinate influence behavior in post-communist transition economies," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 52(2), pages 209-229.
    7. Chung-wen Chen & Hsiu-Huei Yu & Kristine Velasquez Tuliao & Aditya Simha & Yi-Ying Chang, 2021. "Supervisors’ Value Orientations and Ethics: A Cross-National Analysis," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 170(1), pages 167-180, April.
    8. Sarah Hudson & Helena V. González-Gómez & Cyrlene Claasen, 2022. "Societal Inequality, Corruption and Relation-Based Inequality in Organizations," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 181(3), pages 789-809, December.
    9. Allison R. Johnson & Valerie S. Folkes & Juan Wang, 2018. "When one bad apple spoils consumers’ judgment of the brand: exposure to an employee’s non-workplace transgression and potential remedies," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 46(4), pages 725-743, July.
    10. Kim, Sahrok & Praveen Parboteeah, K. & Cullen, John B. & Jeong, Nara, 2022. "Social institutions approach to women’s firm ownership and firm bribery activity: A study of small-sized firms in emerging markets," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 144(C), pages 1333-1349.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Kim, Sahrok & Praveen Parboteeah, K. & Cullen, John B. & Jeong, Nara, 2022. "Social institutions approach to women’s firm ownership and firm bribery activity: A study of small-sized firms in emerging markets," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 144(C), pages 1333-1349.
    2. Valentina Marano & Steve Sauerwald & Marc Essen, 2022. "The influence of culture on the relationship between women directors and corporate social performance," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 53(7), pages 1315-1342, September.
    3. Aditya Simha & K. Praveen Parboteeah, 2020. "The Big 5 Personality Traits and Willingness to Justify Unethical Behavior—A Cross-National Examination," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 167(3), pages 451-471, December.
    4. Boubakri, Narjess & Mirzaei, Ali & Samet, Anis, 2017. "National culture and bank performance: Evidence from the recent financial crisis," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 29(C), pages 36-56.
    5. Mukhiddin Jumaev & Prof. Dr. Dileep Kumar. M. & Jalal R. M. Hanaysha, 2012. "Impact Of Relationship Marketing On Customer Loyalty In The Banking Sector," Far East Journal of Psychology and Business, Far East Research Centre, vol. 6(4), pages 36-55, March.
    6. Nam, Dae-il & Parboteeah, K. Praveen & Cullen, John B. & Johnson, Jean L., 2014. "Cross-national differences in firms undertaking innovation initiatives: An application of institutional anomie theory," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 20(2), pages 91-106.
    7. Professor Bahaudin G. Mujtaba, 2012. "Bribery Challenges And Business Ethics In Afghanistan," Far East Journal of Psychology and Business, Far East Research Centre, vol. 6(4), pages 58-76, February.
    8. Liu, Haiming & Liang, Quanxi & Ling, Leng, 2022. "Underrepresentation of female CEOs in China: The role of culture, market forces, and foreign experience of directors," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 63(C).
    9. Chung-wen Chen & Hsiu-Huei Yu & Kristine Velasquez Tuliao & Aditya Simha & Yi-Ying Chang, 2021. "Supervisors’ Value Orientations and Ethics: A Cross-National Analysis," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 170(1), pages 167-180, April.
    10. Professor Hafiz Abdur Rashid & Hafsa Noreen & Monazza Karamat, 2012. "Growth And Prospects Of Islamic Banking In Pakistan," Far East Journal of Psychology and Business, Far East Research Centre, vol. 7(4), pages 52-65, May.
    11. K. Parboteeah & Helena Addae & John Cullen, 2012. "Propensity to Support Sustainability Initiatives: A Cross-National Model," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 105(3), pages 403-413, February.
    12. Koveshnikov, Alexei & Tienari, Janne & Piekkari, Rebecca, 2019. "Gender in international business journals: A review and conceptualization of MNCs as gendered social spaces," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 54(1), pages 37-53.
    13. Dendi Ramdani & Arjen Witteloostuijn, 2012. "The Shareholder–Manager Relationship and Its Impact on the Likelihood of Firm Bribery," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 108(4), pages 495-507, July.
    14. Newburry, William & Gardberg, Naomi A. & Sanchez, Juan I., 2014. "Employer Attractiveness in Latin America: The Association Among Foreignness, Internationalization and Talent Recruitment," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 20(3), pages 327-344.
    15. Fuan Li & Mike Chen-ho Chao & Nancy Yi-feng Chen & Sixue Zhang, 2018. "Moral judgment in a business setting: The role of managers’ moral foundation, ideology, and level of moral development," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 35(1), pages 121-143, March.
    16. Stathopoulou, Anastasia & Balabanis, George, 2019. "The effect of cultural value orientation on consumers' perceptions of luxury value and proclivity for luxury consumption," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 102(C), pages 298-312.
    17. Naresh Khatri, 2009. "Consequences of Power Distance Orientation in Organisations," Vision, , vol. 13(1), pages 1-9, January.
    18. Daniella Juric & Brendan O’Connell & Michaela Rankin & Jacqueline Birt, 2018. "Determinants of the Severity of Legal and Employment Consequences for CPAs Named in SEC Accounting and Auditing Enforcement Releases," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 147(3), pages 545-563, February.
    19. Orcos, Raquel & Pérez-Aradros, Beatriz & Blind, Knut, 2018. "Why does the diffusion of environmental management standards differ across countries? The role of formal and informal institutions in the adoption of ISO 14001," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 53(6), pages 850-861.
    20. Lam D. Nguyen & Quan H. M. Tran, 2018. "Working Adults and Personal Business Ethics in South East Asia: a Comparative Study in Thailand and Vietnam," Public Organization Review, Springer, vol. 18(2), pages 159-174, June.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:kap:jbuset:v:123:y:2014:i:2:p:221-233. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.