IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/kap/jbuset/v74y2007i1p73-87.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Impact of Business Education on Moral Judgment Competence: An Empirical Study

Author

Listed:
  • David Desplaces
  • David Melchar
  • Laura Beauvais
  • Susan Bosco

Abstract

This study uses theories of moral reasoning and moral competence to investigate how university codes of ethics, perceptions of ethical culture, academic pressure from significant others, and ethics pedagogy are related to the moral development of students. Results suggest that ethical codes and student perceptions of such codes affect their perceptions of the ethical nature of the cultures within these institutions. In addition, faculty and student discussion of ethics in business courses is significantly and positively related to moral competence among students. Our results point to the need to further examine the connections among academic institutional structures, ethics pedagogy, and students’ moral development. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2007

Suggested Citation

  • David Desplaces & David Melchar & Laura Beauvais & Susan Bosco, 2007. "The Impact of Business Education on Moral Judgment Competence: An Empirical Study," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 74(1), pages 73-87, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:jbuset:v:74:y:2007:i:1:p:73-87
    DOI: 10.1007/s10551-006-9221-3
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1007/s10551-006-9221-3
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s10551-006-9221-3?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. Jones, Thomas M. & Ryan, Lori Verstegen, 1998. "The Effect of Organizational Forces on Individual Morality: Judgment, Moral Approbation, and Behavior," Business Ethics Quarterly, Cambridge University Press, vol. 8(3), pages 431-445, July.
    2. 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. Florence Rodhain & Angélique Rodhain, 2012. "Pour une éthique des sciences du management : Formation à la connaissance de soi," Post-Print hal-01950450, HAL.
    2. Maité Laméris & Pierre-Guillaume Méon & Anne-Marie Van Prooijen, 2019. "What have we done? The impact of choosing and studying different academic disciplines on beliefs and values," Working Papers CEB 19-007, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.
    3. Maite D. Laméris & Pierre-Guillaume Méon & Anne-Marie Prooijen, 2023. "What have we done?! The impact of economics on the beliefs and values of business students," Journal of Business Economics, Springer, vol. 93(3), pages 433-483, April.
    4. Ángel Rodríguez-López & Jaime E. Souto, 2020. "Empowering entrepreneurial capacity: training, innovation and business ethics," Eurasian Business Review, Springer;Eurasia Business and Economics Society, vol. 10(1), pages 23-43, March.
    5. Jacqueline C. Wisler, 2018. "U.S. CEOs of SBUs in Luxury Goods Organizations: A Mixed Methods Comparison of Ethical Decision-Making Profiles," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 149(2), pages 443-518, May.
    6. 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.
    7. Guillem C. Cabana & Muel Kaptein, 2021. "Team Ethical Cultures Within an Organization: A Differentiation Perspective on Their Existence and Relevance," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 170(4), pages 761-780, May.
    8. David Jones, 2009. "A Novel Approach to Business Ethics Training: Improving Moral Reasoning in Just a Few Weeks," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 88(2), pages 367-379, August.
    9. Pablo Ruiz-Palomino & Ricardo Martínez-Cañas & Pedro Jiménez-Estévez, 2019. "Are Corporate Social Responsibility Courses Effective? A Longitudinal and Gender-Based Analysis in Undergraduate Students," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(21), pages 1-17, October.
    10. Pamsy P. Hui & Warren C. K. Chiu & Elvy Pang & John Coombes & Doreen Y. P. Tse, 2022. "Seeing Through and Breaking Through: The Role of Perspective Taking in the Relationship Between Creativity and Moral Reasoning," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 180(1), pages 57-69, September.
    11. Ikhlas Hentati-Klila & Saida Dammak-Barkallah & Habib Affes, 2017. "Do auditors’ perceptions actually help fight against fraudulent practices? Evidence from Tunisia," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 21(3), pages 715-735, September.
    12. J. C. Blewitt & Joan M. Blewitt & Jack Ryan, 2018. "Business Forums Pave the Way to Ethical Decision Making: The Mediating Role of Self-Efficacy and Awareness of a Value-Based Educational Institution," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 149(1), pages 235-244, April.
    13. Oana Borcan & Nikita Grabher-Meyer & Stephanie Heger & Amrish Patel, 2023. "Right in the Middle: A Field Experiment On The Role Of Integrity Training And Norms In Combating Corruption," University of East Anglia School of Economics Working Paper Series 2023-05, School of Economics, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK..
    14. Bahaudin G. Mujtaba & Arif Sikander & Naveed Akhtar & Talat Afza, 2012. "Business Ethics of Pakistanis in Islamabad and Lahore: Do Age, Gender and Data Collection Processes Make a Difference?," International Journal of Learning and Development, Macrothink Institute, vol. 2(3), pages 325-341, June.
    15. 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.
    16. Janette Brunstein & Silvia Bertossi Heidrich & Rubens de Araújo Amaro, 2016. "Competencies for a Fair Play in Organizations: a Phenomenographic Analysis of Managers' Conceptions," Brazilian Business Review, Fucape Business School, vol. 13(2), pages 105-134, March.
    17. Dariusz Turek & Agnieszka Wojtczuk-Turek, 2011. "Competence as a determinant of employees' unethical behavior (Kompetencyjne uwarunkowania nieetycznego zachowania pracownikow)," Problemy Zarzadzania, University of Warsaw, Faculty of Management, vol. 9(34a), pages 127-146.
    18. Wilhelm, William J. & Weber, Peter & Douglas, Kacey & Siepermann, Markus & Abuhamdieh, Ayman, 2021. "Moral reasoning and anti-immigrant bias: Experimental evidence from university students in Germany and the United States," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
    19. Oliver Laasch & Dirk C. Moosmayer & Elena P. Antonacopoulou, 2023. "The Interdisciplinary Responsible Management Competence Framework: An Integrative Review of Ethics, Responsibility, and Sustainability Competences," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 187(4), pages 733-757, November.
    20. Natalia M. Mintchik & Timothy A. Farmer, 2009. "Associations Between Epistemological Beliefs and Moral Reasoning: Evidence from Accounting," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 84(2), pages 259-275, January.
    21. Brian Mayhew & Pamela Murphy, 2009. "The Impact of Ethics Education on Reporting Behavior," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 86(3), pages 397-416, May.
    22. Douglas May & Matthew Luth & Catherine Schwoerer, 2014. "The Influence of Business Ethics Education on Moral Efficacy, Moral Meaningfulness, and Moral Courage: A Quasi-experimental Study," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 124(1), pages 67-80, September.

    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. Shamas-ur-Rehman Toor & George Ofori, 2009. "Ethical Leadership: Examining the Relationships with Full Range Leadership Model, Employee Outcomes, and Organizational Culture," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 90(4), pages 533-547, December.
    2. Sebastian Goebel & Barbara E. Weißenberger, 2017. "The Relationship Between Informal Controls, Ethical Work Climates, and Organizational Performance," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 141(3), pages 505-528, March.
    3. Craig VanSandt & Jon Shepard & Stephen Zappe, 2006. "An Examination of the Relationship Between Ethical Work Climate and Moral Awareness," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 68(4), pages 409-432, November.
    4. Michael O’Fallon & Kenneth Butterfield, 2011. "Moral Differentiation: Exploring Boundaries of the “Monkey See, Monkey Do” Perspective," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 102(3), pages 379-399, September.
    5. Mingfeng Tang & Mei Mei & Cuiwen Li & Xingyang Lv & Xushuang Li & Lihao Wang, 2020. "How does an individual’s default behavior on an online peer-to-peer lending platform influence an observer’s default intention?," Financial Innovation, Springer;Southwestern University of Finance and Economics, vol. 6(1), pages 1-20, December.
    6. 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.
    7. Silvija Vig & Ksenija Dumicic, 2016. "Impact of commitment to business ethics to nonfinancial business performance," Interdisciplinary Description of Complex Systems - scientific journal, Croatian Interdisciplinary Society Provider Homepage: http://indecs.eu, vol. 14(2), pages 165-181.
    8. Shafer, William E., 2008. "Ethical climate in Chinese CPA firms," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 33(7-8), pages 825-835.
    9. Xin Liu & Byron Y. Lee & Tae-Yeol Kim & Yaping Gong & Xiaoming Zheng, 2023. "Double-Edged Effects of Creative Personality on Moral Disengagement and Unethical Behaviors: Dual Motivational Mechanisms and a Situational Contingency," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 185(2), pages 449-466, June.
    10. Silke Eisenbeiss & Daan Knippenberg & Clemens Fahrbach, 2015. "Doing Well by Doing Good? Analyzing the Relationship Between CEO Ethical Leadership and Firm Performance," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 128(3), pages 635-651, May.
    11. Buntoro Heri Prasetya & Yvone Agustine Sudibyo, 2021. "The influence of the ethic culture and intellectual capital on local government performance: Evidence from Indonesia," Technium Social Sciences Journal, Technium Science, vol. 19(1), pages 465-476, May.
    12. Anke Arnaud & Marshall Schminke, 2012. "The Ethical Climate and Context of Organizations: A Comprehensive Model," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 23(6), pages 1767-1780, December.
    13. Christopher Winchester & Kelsey E. Medeiros, 2023. "In Bounds but Out of the Box: A Meta-Analysis Clarifying the Effect of Ethicality on Creativity," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 183(3), pages 713-743, March.
    14. Muhammad Sajjad Bashir & Sajid Haider & Muhammad Ali Asadullah & Munir Ahmed & Muhammad Sajjad, 2020. "Moderated Mediation Between Transformational Leadership and Organizational Commitment: The Role of Procedural Justice and Career Growth Opportunities," SAGE Open, , vol. 10(2), pages 21582440209, June.
    15. Vig Silvija & Dumičić Ksenija & Klopotan Igor, 2017. "The Impact of Reputation on Corporate Financial Performance: Median Regression Approach," Business Systems Research, Sciendo, vol. 8(2), pages 40-58, September.
    16. Sean Valentine & Philip Varca & Lynn Godkin & Tim Barnett, 2010. "Positive Job Response and Ethical Job Performance," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 91(2), pages 195-206, January.
    17. 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.
    18. Christof Miska & Günter K. Stahl & Matthias Fuchs, 2018. "The Moderating Role of Context in Determining Unethical Managerial Behavior: A Case Survey," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 153(3), pages 793-812, December.
    19. Marko Pitesa & Stefan Thau, 2013. "Compliant sinners, obstinate saints: How power and self-focus determine the effectiveness of social influences in ethical decision making," Post-Print hal-00814614, HAL.
    20. Yi-Hui Ho & Cheng-Kun Wang & Chieh-Yu Lin, 2022. "Antecedents and Consequences of Green Mindfulness: A Conceptual Model," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(11), pages 1-19, May.

    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:74:y:2007:i:1:p:73-87. 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.