IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/snbeco/v2y2022i8d10.1007_s43546-022-00288-1.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Determinant factors on ethical behavior of firms: evidence from a cross-country survey

Author

Listed:
  • Cristina Bota-Avram

    (Babeş-Bolyai University)

  • Roumen Vesselinov

    (University of Maryland at Baltimore)

  • Paula Ramona Răchişan

    (Babeş-Bolyai University)

  • Adrian Groşanu

    (Babeş-Bolyai University)

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to explore the impact of macro-level factors such as governance, business education, control of corruption, political, and legal environments on ethical behavior of firms (EBF). We argued that these factors such as governance, business education, control of corruption, political, and legal environments are relevant for the ethical behavior of firms (EBF), because very often, these external factors interfere with the business activities of companies, which not infrequently are put in the situation of adopting less ethical business practices (such as bribery to public authorities) to protect their businesses. The analysis is based on a large sample of 122 countries over 9 years (2006–2014) and 20 possible independent variables and 2 structural factors: stage of development and legal origin. The results suggest that for developed countries, the most influential factors in the EBF are the diversion of public funds, favoritism in government officials' decisions, corruption control, and availability of research and training services. For less advanced economies, the results suggest that intellectual property protection is the most influential factor affecting EBF. Overall, the diversion of public funds is the major factor in the ethical behavior of business managers. The study could have significant implications for policy makers, business managers and scholars, while providing further directions for improving the ethical behavior of businesses in various countries around the world. Furthermore, this paper reinforces the belief that governance, business education, and political and legal environments are real factors that influence managers' perceptions of business ethics.

Suggested Citation

  • Cristina Bota-Avram & Roumen Vesselinov & Paula Ramona Răchişan & Adrian Groşanu, 2022. "Determinant factors on ethical behavior of firms: evidence from a cross-country survey," SN Business & Economics, Springer, vol. 2(8), pages 1-25, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:snbeco:v:2:y:2022:i:8:d:10.1007_s43546-022-00288-1
    DOI: 10.1007/s43546-022-00288-1
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s43546-022-00288-1
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s43546-022-00288-1?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. Yasemin Zengin Karaibrahimoglu & Burcu Guneri Cangarli, 2016. "Do Auditing and Reporting Standards Affect Firms’ Ethical Behaviours? The Moderating Role of National Culture," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 139(1), pages 55-75, November.
    2. La Porta, Rafael & Lopez-de-Silanes, Florencio & Shleifer, Andrei & Vishny, Robert, 1999. "The Quality of Government," The Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization, Oxford University Press, vol. 15(1), pages 222-279, April.
    3. Hausman, Jerry, 2015. "Specification tests in econometrics," Applied Econometrics, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (RANEPA), vol. 38(2), pages 112-134.
    4. La Porta, Rafael & Florencio Lopez-de-Silanes & Andrei Shleifer & Robert W. Vishny, 1997. "Legal Determinants of External Finance," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 52(3), pages 1131-1150, July.
    5. Alex Chan & Hoi Cheung, 2012. "Cultural Dimensions, Ethical Sensitivity, and Corporate Governance," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 110(1), pages 45-59, September.
    6. White, Halbert, 1982. "Maximum Likelihood Estimation of Misspecified Models," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 50(1), pages 1-25, January.
    7. White, Halbert, 1980. "A Heteroskedasticity-Consistent Covariance Matrix Estimator and a Direct Test for Heteroskedasticity," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 48(4), pages 817-838, May.
    8. Mark Schwartz, 2012. "The State of Business Ethics in Israel: A Light Unto the Nations?," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 105(4), pages 429-446, February.
    9. Loréa Baïada-Hirèche & Ghislaine Garmilis, 2016. "Accounting professionals' ethical judgment and the institutional disciplinary context : a French-US comparison," Post-Print hal-01404040, HAL.
    10. Kaufmann, Daniel & Kraay, Aart & Zoido-Lobaton, Pablo, 1999. "Aggregating governance indicators," Policy Research Working Paper Series 2195, The World Bank.
    11. La Porta, Rafael & Lopez-de-Silanes, Florencio & Shleifer, Andrei & Vishny, Robert, 2000. "Investor protection and corporate governance," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 58(1-2), pages 3-27.
    12. Ahmet Ekici & Sule Onsel, 2013. "How Ethical Behavior of Firms is Influenced by the Legal and Political Environments: A Bayesian Causal Map Analysis Based on Stages of Development," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 115(2), pages 271-290, June.
    13. Joseph Carcello, 2009. "Governance and the Common Good," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 89(1), pages 11-18, May.
    14. Loréa Baïada-Hirèche & Ghislaine Garmilis, 2016. "Accounting professionals' ethical judgment and the institutional disciplinary context : a French-US comparison," Grenoble Ecole de Management (Post-Print) hal-01404040, HAL.
    15. Jensen, Michael C. & Meckling, William H., 1976. "Theory of the firm: Managerial behavior, agency costs and ownership structure," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 3(4), pages 305-360, October.
    16. Scott Fleming & Mike McNamee, 2005. "The ethics of corporate governance in public sector organizations," Public Management Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 7(1), pages 135-144, March.
    17. Muel Kaptein & Mark Schwartz, 2008. "The Effectiveness of Business Codes: A Critical Examination of Existing Studies and the Development of an Integrated Research Model," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 77(2), pages 111-127, January.
    18. Runtian Jing & John L. Graham, 2008. "Values Versus Regulations: How Culture Plays Its Role," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 80(4), pages 791-806, July.
    19. Konstantin V. Pashev, 2011. "Corruption and Accession," Public Management Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 13(3), pages 409-432, March.
    20. 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.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Hakkon Kim & Kwangwoo Park & Doojin Ryu, 2017. "Corporate Environmental Responsibility: A Legal Origins Perspective," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 140(3), pages 381-402, February.
    2. Muradoğlu, Yaz Gülnur & Onay, Ceylan & Phylaktis, Kate, 2014. "European integration and corporate financing," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 33(C), pages 138-157.
    3. Bortolotti, Bernardo & Fantini, Marcella & Siniscalco, Domenico, 2004. "Privatisation around the world: evidence from panel data," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 88(1-2), pages 305-332, January.
    4. Schmid, Thomas & Ampenberger, Markus & Kaserer, Christoph & Achleitner, Ann-Kristin, 2010. "Controlling shareholders and payout policy: do founding families have a special 'taste for dividends'?," CEFS Working Paper Series 2010-01, Technische Universität München (TUM), Center for Entrepreneurial and Financial Studies (CEFS).
    5. Steven Globerman & Daniel Shapiro, 2003. "Governance infrastructure and US foreign direct investment," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 34(1), pages 19-39, January.
    6. Jian Zhang, 2018. "Public Governance and Corporate Fraud: Evidence from the Recent Anti-corruption Campaign in China," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 148(2), pages 375-396, March.
    7. Qianqian Du & Ilan Vertinsky, 2011. "International patterns of ownership structure choices of start-ups: does the quality of law matter?," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 37(2), pages 235-254, September.
    8. Marco Botta & Luca Vittorio Angelo Colombo, 2022. "Non‐linear capital structure dynamics," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 49(9-10), pages 1897-1928, October.
    9. David Collison & Stuart Cross & John Ferguson & David Power & Lorna Stevenson, 2012. "Legal Determinants of External Finance Revisited: The Inverse Relationship Between Investor Protection and Societal Well-Being," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 108(3), pages 393-410, July.
    10. Utz Weitzel & Sjors Berns, 2006. "Cross-border takeovers, corruption, and related aspects of governance," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 37(6), pages 786-806, November.
    11. Thorsten Beck & Ross Levine, 2008. "Legal Institutions and Financial Development," Springer Books, in: Claude Ménard & Mary M. Shirley (ed.), Handbook of New Institutional Economics, chapter 11, pages 251-278, Springer.
    12. Leopoldo Fergusson, 2006. "Institutions for Financial Development: What are they and where do they come from?," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 20(1), pages 27-70, February.
    13. Chien, Yi-Hsin & Hung, Mao-Wei, 2020. "The impact of appointment-based CEO connectedness on firms’ performance and profitability," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 53(C).
    14. Ricardo Luiz Menezes da Silva & Paula Carolina Ciampaglia Nardi & Vinicius Aversari Martins & Milton Barossi-Filho, 2014. "Factors Affecting Stock Liquidity: Corporate Governance, ADRs and Economic Crisis," Brazilian Business Review, Fucape Business School, vol. 11(1), pages 1-24, January.
    15. Maung, Min & Shedden, Myles & Wang, Yuan & Wilson, Craig, 2019. "The investment environment and cross-border merger and acquisition premiums," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 19-35.
    16. Meghana Ayyagari & Asli Demirgüc-Kunt & Vojislav Maksimovic, 2008. "How Well Do Institutional Theories Explain Firms' Perceptions of Property Rights?," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 21(4), pages 1833-1871, July.
    17. Rafael La Porta & Florencio Lopez‐De‐Silanes & Andrei Shleifer & Robert Vishny, 2002. "Investor Protection and Corporate Valuation," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 57(3), pages 1147-1170, June.
    18. Adèle Feulefack Tsangué, 2023. "Banking Market Structure in Sub-Saharan Africa: The Role of Institutions," International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science, International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS), vol. 7(7), pages 406-429, July.
    19. Lopes, Patricia Teixeira & Rodrigues, Lucia Lima, 2007. "Accounting for financial instruments: An analysis of the determinants of disclosure in the Portuguese stock exchange," The International Journal of Accounting, Elsevier, vol. 42(1), pages 25-56.
    20. Rafael Morales-Sánchez & Manuel Orta-Pérez & M. Ángeles Rodríguez-Serrano, 2020. "The Benefits of Auditors’ Sustained Ethical Behavior: Increased Trust and Reduced Costs," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 166(2), pages 441-459, October.

    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:spr:snbeco:v:2:y:2022:i:8:d:10.1007_s43546-022-00288-1. 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.