IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/kap/jbuset/v110y2012i1p33-44.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Spirituality and national culture as antecedents to ethical decision-making: a comparison between the United States and Norway

Author

Listed:
  • Rafik Beekun
  • James Westerman

Abstract

We investigate the cross-cultural relationships between spirituality and ethical decision-making in Norway and the U.S. Data were collected from business students (n = 149) at state universities in Norway and the U.S. Results indicate that intention to behave ethically was significantly related to spirituality, national culture, and the influence of peers. Americans were significantly less ethical than Norwegians based on the three dimensions of ethics, yet more spiritual overall. Interestingly, the more spiritual were Norwegians, the more ethical was their decision-making. By contrast, the more spiritual were Americans, the less ethical was their decision-making. The research also found that peer influences were more important to Norwegians than to Americans in making ethical decisions. Finally, spiritual people from the U.S. were more likely to use a universalistic form of justice ethics, as opposed to a more particularistic form of justice ethics used by Norwegians. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2012

Suggested Citation

  • Rafik Beekun & James Westerman, 2012. "Spirituality and national culture as antecedents to ethical decision-making: a comparison between the United States and Norway," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 110(1), pages 33-44, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:jbuset:v:110:y:2012:i:1:p:33-44
    DOI: 10.1007/s10551-011-1145-x
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1007/s10551-011-1145-x
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s10551-011-1145-x?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. James Westerman & Rafik Beekun & Yvonne Stedham & Jeanne Yamamura, 2007. "Peers Versus National Culture: An Analysis of Antecedents to Ethical Decision-making," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 75(3), pages 239-252, October.
    2. Bryan W Husted & Janelle Brinker Dozier & J Timothy McMahon & Michael W Kattan, 1996. "The Impact of Cross-National Carriers of Business Ethics on Attitudes about Questionable Practices and Form of Moral Reasoning," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 27(2), pages 391-411, June.
    3. Charney, Evan, 2003. "Identity and Liberal Nationalism," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 97(2), pages 295-310, May.
    4. Christopher J. Robertson & William F. Crittenden, 2003. "Mapping moral philosophies: strategic implications for multinational firms," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 24(4), pages 385-392, April.
    5. Cohen, Jeffrey R. & Pant, Laurie W. & Sharp, David J., 1996. "A methodological note on cross-cultural accounting ethics research," The International Journal of Accounting, Elsevier, vol. 31(1), pages 55-66.
    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. Stephen E. Anderson & Jodine M. Burchell, 2021. "The Effects of Spirituality and Moral Intensity on Ethical Business Decisions: A Cross-Sectional Study," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 168(1), pages 137-149, January.
    2. Agnes Bäker & Mario Mechtel, 2019. "The Impact Of Peer Presence On Cheating," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 57(2), pages 792-812, April.
    3. Jumaing, Baharuddin & Haming, Murdifin & Sinring, Bahar & Dani, Ibrahim & Jamali, Hisnol, 2017. "The role of mediation morale: The effect of Islamic leadership and emotional intelligence on employee performance," INA-Rxiv 9vadn, Center for Open Science.
    4. Octavian RUJOIU & Valentina RUJOIU, 2014. "Academic Dishonesty And Workplace Dishonesty. An Overview," Proceedings of the INTERNATIONAL MANAGEMENT CONFERENCE, Faculty of Management, Academy of Economic Studies, Bucharest, Romania, vol. 8(1), pages 928-938, November.
    5. Zuobao Wei & Yicheng Zhu, 2023. "Does religiosity improve analyst forecast accuracy?," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 60(3), pages 915-948, April.
    6. Lillian Y. Fok & Dinah M. Payne & Christy M. Corey, 2016. "Cultural Values, Utilitarian Orientation, and Ethical Decision Making: A Comparison of U.S. and Puerto Rican Professionals," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 134(2), pages 263-279, March.
    7. Fotios Pasiouras & Elie Bouri & David Roubaud & Emilios Galariotis, 2021. "Culture and Multiple Firm–Bank Relationships: A Matter of Secrecy and Trust?," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 174(1), pages 221-249, November.
    8. Prithi Nambiar & Naren Chitty, 2014. "Meaning Making by Managers: Corporate Discourse on Environment and Sustainability in India," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 123(3), pages 493-511, September.
    9. Yusuf Sidani & Akram Al Ariss, 2015. "New Conceptual Foundations for Islamic Business Ethics: The Contributions of Abu-Hamid Al-Ghazali," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 129(4), pages 847-857, July.
    10. Dorfleitner, Gregor & Kreuzer, Christian & Sparrer, Christian, 2022. "To sin in secret is no sin at all: On the linkage of policy, society, culture, and firm characteristics with corporate scandals," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 202(C), pages 762-784.
    11. Naatu, Felicia & Nyarko, Samuel Anokye & Munim, Ziaul Haque & Alon, Ilan, 2022. "Crowd-out effect on consumers attitude towards corporate social responsibility communication," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 177(C).
    12. Kreuzer, Christian & Priberny, Christopher, 2022. "To green or not to green: The influence of board characteristics on carbon emissions," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 49(C).
    13. Puncheva-Michelotti, Petya & Hudson, Sarah & Michelotti, Marco, 2018. "The role of proximity to local and global citizens in stakeholders' moral recognition of corporate social responsibility," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 88(C), pages 234-244.
    14. Martin C. Schleper & Constantin Blome & David A. Wuttke, 2017. "The Dark Side of Buyer Power: Supplier Exploitation and the Role of Ethical Climates," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 140(1), pages 97-114, January.
    15. Suchuan Zhang, 2020. "Workplace Spirituality and Unethical Pro-organizational Behavior: The Mediating Effect of Job Satisfaction," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 161(3), pages 687-705, January.

    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. James Westerman & Rafik Beekun & Yvonne Stedham & Jeanne Yamamura, 2007. "Peers Versus National Culture: An Analysis of Antecedents to Ethical Decision-making," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 75(3), pages 239-252, October.
    2. 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.
    3. Bruce W. Stening & Daniel W. Skubik, 2007. "Do international management researchers need a code of ethics?," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 47(1), pages 103-126, February.
    4. Volkema, Roger J., 2004. "Demographic, cultural, and economic predictors of perceived ethicality of negotiation behavior: A nine-country analysis," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 57(1), pages 69-78, January.
    5. Naresh Khatri, 2009. "Consequences of Power Distance Orientation in Organisations," Vision, , vol. 13(1), pages 1-9, January.
    6. Aurifeille, Jacques-Marie & Quester, Pascale G., 2003. "Predicting business ethical tolerance in international markets: a concomitant clusterwise regression analysis," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 12(2), pages 253-272, April.
    7. Victoria Crittenden & Richard Hanna & Robert Peterson, 2009. "Business students’ attitudes toward unethical behavior: A multi-country comparison," Marketing Letters, Springer, vol. 20(1), pages 1-14, March.
    8. Alex Chan & Hoi Cheung, 2012. "Cultural Dimensions, Ethical Sensitivity, and Corporate Governance," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 110(1), pages 45-59, September.
    9. Tjaša Štrukelj & Jelena Nikolić & Dejana Zlatanović & Simona Sternad Zabukovšek, 2020. "A Strategic Model for Sustainable Business Policy Development," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(2), pages 1-28, January.
    10. Vastola, Vincenzo & Russo, Angeloantonio & Vurro, Clodia, 2017. "Dealing with Cultural Differences in Environmental Management: Exploring the CEP-CFP Relationship," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 134(C), pages 267-275.
    11. Baskerville, Rachel F., 2003. "Hofstede never studied culture," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 28(1), pages 1-14, January.
    12. Rajshekhar G. Javalgi & La Toya M. Russell, 2018. "International Marketing Ethics: A Literature Review and Research Agenda," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 148(4), pages 703-720, April.
    13. Zhen-wei Huang & Li Liu & Wen-wen Zheng & Xu-yun Tan & Xian Zhao, 2015. "Walking the Straight and Narrow: The Moderating Effect of Evaluation Apprehension on the Relationship between Collectivism and Corruption," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 10(3), pages 1-12, March.
    14. Posthuma, Richard A., 2022. "High-compliance work systems: Innovative solutions for firm success and control of foreign corruption," Business Horizons, Elsevier, vol. 65(2), pages 205-214.
    15. Tarja Ketola, 2006. "From CR‐psychopaths to responsible corporations: waking up the inner Sleeping Beauty of companies," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 13(2), pages 98-107, May.
    16. Ullah, Subhan & Agyei-Boapeah, Henry & Kim, Ja Ryong & Nasim, Asma, 2022. "Does national culture matter for environmental innovation? A study of emerging economies," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 181(C).
    17. David Ralston & Carolyn Egri & Olivier Furrer & Min-Hsun Kuo & Yongjuan Li & Florian Wangenheim & Marina Dabic & Irina Naoumova & Katsuhiko Shimizu & María Garza Carranza & Ping Fu & Vojko Potocan & A, 2014. "Societal-Level Versus Individual-Level Predictions of Ethical Behavior: A 48-Society Study of Collectivism and Individualism," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 122(2), pages 283-306, June.
    18. Gilley, K. Matthew & Robertson, Christopher J. & Mazur, Tim C., 2010. "The bottom-line benefits of ethics code commitment," Business Horizons, Elsevier, vol. 53(1), pages 31-37, January.
    19. Lucia Peek & Maria Roxas & George Peek & Yves Robichaud & Blanca Covarrubias Salazar & Jose Barragan Codina, 2007. "NAFTA Students’ Whistle-Blowing Perceptions: A Case of Sexual Harassment," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 74(3), pages 219-231, September.
    20. Katalin Takacs Haynes & Matevž (Matt) Rašković, 2021. "Living with Corruption in Central and Eastern Europe: Social Identity and the Role of Moral Disengagement," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 174(4), pages 825-845, December.

    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:110:y:2012:i:1:p:33-44. 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.