IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/kap/jbuset/v124y2014i3p509-526.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Ethical Context and Ethical Decision Making: Examination of an Alternative Statistical Approach for Identifying Variable Relationships

Author

Listed:
  • Sean Valentine
  • Seong-Hyun Nam
  • David Hollingworth
  • Callie Hall

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between organizational ethical context and the individual ethical decision-making process. In addition, a new statistical approach combining cluster and discriminant analyses was developed to overcome violations of regression assumptions, which are commonly not identified and/or ignored in behavioral and psychological research. Using regressions and this new alternative method, the findings indicated that ethical context does indeed influence the various components of ethical reasoning. However, social desirability was the strongest predictor of ethical decision making, which raises new concerns about how this bias can confound business ethics research. Finally, the findings showed that the alternative method provided more useful and interpretive results, indicating that it has the capacity to influence future empirical work in the field of business ethics, particularly when dealing with data that do not satisfy regression assumptions. The implications and limitations of the study are discussed, and several noteworthy suggestions for future research are provided. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2014

Suggested Citation

  • Sean Valentine & Seong-Hyun Nam & David Hollingworth & Callie Hall, 2014. "Ethical Context and Ethical Decision Making: Examination of an Alternative Statistical Approach for Identifying Variable Relationships," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 124(3), pages 509-526, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:jbuset:v:124:y:2014:i:3:p:509-526
    DOI: 10.1007/s10551-013-1879-8
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1007/s10551-013-1879-8
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s10551-013-1879-8?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. Janet Marta & Anusorn Singhapakdi & Dong-Jin Lee & Sebnem Burnaz & Y. Ilker Topcu & M. Serap Atakan & Tugrul Ozkaracalar, 2012. "The Effects of Corporate Ethical Values and Personal Moral Philosophies on Ethical Intentions in Selling Situations: Evidence from Turkish, Thai, and American Businesspeople," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 106(2), pages 229-241, March.
    2. Frances Chua & Asheq Rahman, 2011. "Institutional Pressures and Ethical Reckoning by Business Corporations," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 98(2), pages 307-329, January.
    3. Sean Valentine & David Hollingworth, 2012. "Moral Intensity, Issue Importance, and Ethical Reasoning in Operations Situations," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 108(4), pages 509-523, July.
    4. Russell Haines & Marc Street & Douglas Haines, 2008. "The Influence of Perceived Importance of an Ethical Issue on Moral Judgment, Moral Obligation, and Moral Intent," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 81(2), pages 387-399, August.
    5. Ethan Waples & Alison Antes & Stephen Murphy & Shane Connelly & Michael Mumford, 2009. "A Meta-Analytic Investigation of Business Ethics Instruction," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 87(1), pages 133-151, June.
    6. Hae-Ryong Kim & Moonkyu Lee & Hyoung-Tark Lee & Na-Min Kim, 2010. "Corporate Social Responsibility and Employee–Company Identification," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 95(4), pages 557-569, September.
    7. Jay Mulki & Jorge Jaramillo & William Locander, 2009. "Critical Role of Leadership on Ethical Climate and Salesperson Behaviors," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 86(2), pages 125-141, May.
    8. Armstrong, J. Scott & Overton, Terry S., 1977. "Estimating Nonresponse Bias in Mail Surveys," MPRA Paper 81694, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    9. Janet Adams & Armen Tashchian & Ted Shore, 2001. "Codes of Ethics as Signals for Ethical Behavior," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 29(3), pages 199-211, February.
    10. Arménio Rego & Susana Leal & Miguel Cunha & Jorge Faria & Carlos Pinho, 2010. "How the Perceptions of Five Dimensions of Corporate Citizenship and Their Inter-Inconsistencies Predict Affective Commitment," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 94(1), pages 107-127, June.
    11. Sean Valentine & Lynn Godkin & Philip Varca, 2010. "Role Conflict, Mindfulness, and Organizational Ethics in an Education-Based Healthcare Institution," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 94(3), pages 455-469, July.
    12. Eyun-Jung Ki & Hong-Lim Choi & Junghyuk Lee, 2012. "Does Ethics Statement of a Public Relations Firm Make a Difference? Yes it Does!!," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 105(2), pages 267-276, January.
    13. Valentine, Sean & Greller, Martin M. & Richtermeyer, Sandra B., 2006. "Employee job response as a function of ethical context and perceived organization support," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 59(5), pages 582-588, May.
    14. Singhapakdi, Anusorn, 1999. "Perceived Importance of Ethics and Ethical Decisions in Marketing," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 45(1), pages 89-99, May.
    15. Sean Valentine & Gary Fleischman, 2008. "Ethics Programs, Perceived Corporate Social Responsibility and Job Satisfaction," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 77(2), pages 159-172, January.
    16. Nonna Martinov-Bennie & Gary Pflugrath, 2009. "The Strength of an Accounting Firm’s Ethical Environment and the Quality of Auditors’ Judgments," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 87(2), pages 237-253, June.
    17. Duygu Turker, 2009. "How Corporate Social Responsibility Influences Organizational Commitment," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 89(2), pages 189-204, October.
    18. Singhapakdi, Anusorn & Vitell, Scott J. & Kraft, Kenneth L., 1996. "Moral Intensity and Ethical Decision-Making of Marketing Professionals," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 36(3), pages 245-255, July.
    19. Koonmee, Kalayanee & Singhapakdi, Anusorn & Virakul, Busaya & Lee, Dong-Jin, 2010. "Ethics institutionalization, quality of work life, and employee job-related outcomes: A survey of human resource managers in Thailand," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 63(1), pages 20-26, January.
    20. Barnett, Tim & Valentine, Sean, 2004. "Issue contingencies and marketers' recognition of ethical issues, ethical judgments and behavioral intentions," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 57(4), pages 338-346, April.
    21. Dawn Elm & Tara Radin, 2012. "Ethical Decision Making: Special or No Different?," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 107(3), pages 313-329, May.
    22. Robin, Donald P. & Reidenbach, R. Eric & Forrest, P. J., 1996. "The perceived importance of an ethical issue as an influence on the ethical decision-making of ad managers," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 35(1), pages 17-28, January.
    23. Treviño, Linda Klebe & Butterfield, Kenneth D. & McCabe, Donald L., 1998. "The Ethical Context in Organizations: Influences on Employee Attitudes and Behaviors," Business Ethics Quarterly, Cambridge University Press, vol. 8(3), pages 447-476, July.
    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. Paredes-Gazquez, Juan Diego & Rodriguez-Fernandez, José Miguel & de la Cuesta-Gonzalez, Marta, 2016. "Measuring corporate social responsibility using composite indices: Mission impossible? The case of the electricity utility industry," Revista de Contabilidad - Spanish Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 19(1), pages 142-153.
    2. Chan, Christopher & Ananthram, Subramaniam & Thaker, Keyur & Liu, Yi, 2022. "Do religiosity and ethical principles influence ethical decision-making in a multi-faith context? Evidence from India," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 149(C), pages 772-785.
    3. Valentine, Sean & Godkin, Lynn, 2019. "Moral intensity, ethical decision making, and whistleblowing intention," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 98(C), pages 277-288.
    4. Kai D. Bussmann & Anja Niemeczek, 2019. "Compliance Through Company Culture and Values: An International Study Based on the Example of Corruption Prevention," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 157(3), pages 797-811, July.
    5. Victor M. Mercader Pomaron, 2017. "Relationship Of Productivity, Ethics, Decision Making And Happiness (Relacion De La Productividad, La Etica, La Toma De Decisiones Y La Felicidad)," Revista Internacional Administracion & Finanzas, The Institute for Business and Finance Research, vol. 10(6), pages 87-104.
    6. Tabea Franziska Hirth-Goebel & Barbara E. Weißenberger, 2019. "Management accountants and ethical dilemmas: How to promote ethical intention?," Journal of Management Control: Zeitschrift für Planung und Unternehmenssteuerung, Springer, vol. 30(3), pages 287-322, October.

    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. Sean Valentine & David Hollingworth, 2012. "Moral Intensity, Issue Importance, and Ethical Reasoning in Operations Situations," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 108(4), pages 509-523, July.
    2. Valentine, Sean & Godkin, Lynn, 2019. "Moral intensity, ethical decision making, and whistleblowing intention," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 98(C), pages 277-288.
    3. Sean Valentine & Gary Fleischman & Lynn Godkin, 2018. "Villains, Victims, and Verisimilitudes: An Exploratory Study of Unethical Corporate Values, Bullying Experiences, Psychopathy, and Selling Professionals’ Ethical Reasoning," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 148(1), pages 135-154, March.
    4. Mark S. Schwartz, 2016. "Ethical Decision-Making Theory: An Integrated Approach," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 139(4), pages 755-776, December.
    5. Rahizah Sulaiman & Paul Toulson & David Brougham & Frieder Lempp & Jarrod Haar, 2022. "The Role of Religiosity in Ethical Decision-Making: A Study on Islam and the Malaysian Workplace," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 179(1), pages 297-313, August.
    6. Peter Mudrack & E. Mason, 2013. "Ethical Judgments: What Do We Know, Where Do We Go?," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 115(3), pages 575-597, July.
    7. Ahmed Musbah & Christopher J. Cowton & David Tyfa, 2016. "The Role of Individual Variables, Organizational Variables and Moral Intensity Dimensions in Libyan Management Accountants’ Ethical Decision Making," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 134(3), pages 335-358, March.
    8. Won-Moo Hur & Tae-Won Moon & Sung-Hoon Ko, 2018. "How Employees’ Perceptions of CSR Increase Employee Creativity: Mediating Mechanisms of Compassion at Work and Intrinsic Motivation," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 153(3), pages 629-644, December.
    9. Jocelyn Husser & Jean-Marc Andre & Véronique Lespinet-Najib, 2019. "The Impact of Locus of Control, Moral Intensity, and the Microsocial Ethical Environment on Purchasing-Related Ethical Reasoning," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 154(1), pages 243-261, January.
    10. Muddassar Sarfraz & Wang Qun & Muhammad Ibrahim Abdullah & Adnan Tariq Alvi, 2018. "Employees’ Perception of Corporate Social Responsibility Impact on Employee Outcomes: Mediating Role of Organizational Justice for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs)," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(7), pages 1-19, July.
    11. Won‐Moo Hur & Tae‐Won Moon & Han‐Geun Lee, 2018. "Employee engagement in CSR initiatives and customer‐directed counterproductive work behavior (CWB): The mediating roles of organizational civility norms and job calling," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 25(6), pages 1087-1098, November.
    12. Madeeha Zafar & Imran Ali, 2016. "The Influence of Corporate Social Responsibility on Employee Commitment: The Mediating Role of Employee Company Identification," Asian Social Science, Canadian Center of Science and Education, vol. 12(12), pages 262-262, December.
    13. Nicholas McClaren, 2013. "The Personal Selling and Sales Management Ethics Research: Managerial Implications and Research Directions from a Comprehensive Review of the Empirical Literature," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 112(1), pages 101-125, January.
    14. Dong-Jin Lee & Grace B. Yu & M. Joseph Sirgy & Anusorn Singhapakdi & Lorenzo Lucianetti, 2018. "The Effects of Explicit and Implicit Ethics Institutionalization on Employee Life Satisfaction and Happiness: The Mediating Effects of Employee Experiences in Work Life and Moderating Effects of Work–," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 147(4), pages 855-874, February.
    15. Omer Farooq & Marielle Payaud & Dwight Merunka & Pierre Valette-Florence, 2014. "The Impact of Corporate Social Responsibility on Organizational Commitment: Exploring Multiple Mediation Mechanisms," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 125(4), pages 563-580, December.
    16. 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.
    17. Byung-Jik Kim & Mohammad Nurunnabi & Tae-Hyun Kim & Se-Youn Jung, 2019. "Does a Good Firm Breed Good Organizational Citizens? The Moderating Role of Perspective Taking," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(1), pages 1-15, January.
    18. Byung-Jik Kim & Mohammad Nurunnabi & Tae-Hyun Kim & Se-Youn Jung, 2018. "The Influence of Corporate Social Responsibility on Organizational Commitment: The Sequential Mediating Effect of Meaningfulness of Work and Perceived Organizational Support," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(7), pages 1-16, June.
    19. Scott J. Vitell & Anusorn Singhapakdi & Ceri Nishihara, 2015. "The influence of ethics institutionalization on ethical decision making in marketing," Chapters, in: Handbook on Ethics and Marketing, chapter 4, pages 61-88, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    20. Ante Glavas & Lindsey Godwin, 2013. "Is the Perception of ‘Goodness’ Good Enough? Exploring the Relationship Between Perceived Corporate Social Responsibility and Employee Organizational Identification," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 114(1), pages 15-27, April.

    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:124:y:2014:i:3:p:509-526. 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.