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Attitude Toward and Propensity to Engage in Unethical Behavior: Measurement Invariance across Major among University Students

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Abstract

This research examines business and psychology students’ attitude toward unethical behavior (measured at Time 1) and their propensity to engage in unethical behavior (measured at Time 1 and at Time 2, 4 weeks later) using a 15-item Unethical Behavior measure with five Factors: Abuse Resources, Not Whistle Blowing, Theft, Corruption, and Deception. Results suggested that male students had stronger unethical attitudes and had higher propensity to engage in unethical behavior than female students. Attitude at Time 1 predicted Propensity at Time 1 accurately for all five factors (concurrent validity): If students consider it to be unethical, then, they are less likely to engage in that unethical behavior. Attitude at Time 1 predicted only Factor Abuse Resources for Propensity at Time 2. Propensity at Time 1 was significantly related to Propensity at Time 2. Attitude at Time 1, Propensity at Time 1, and Propensity at Time 2 had achieved configural and metric measurement invariance across major (business vs. psychology). Thus, researchers may have confidence in using these measures in future research.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank late Father Wiatt Funk and Richard Leggatt for their encouragement and Amy Watson and James Van Buren for their assistance.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro, TN, 37132, U.S.A.

    Yuh-Jia Chen

  2. Department of Management and Marketing, Jennings A. Jones College of Business, Middle Tennessee State University, P.O. Box 516, Murfreesboro, TN, 37132, U.S.A.

    Thomas Li-Ping Tang

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  1. Yuh-Jia Chen
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Correspondence to Thomas Li-Ping Tang.

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Yuh-Jia Chen received his Ph.D. in Measurement, Evaluation, and Statistics at Teachers College, Columbia University (with a M.A. in Organizational Psychology and M.S. in Applied Statistics). His research interests lie in choice and decision making under risk, money attitude, and resource allocation behavior. Currently, he is an Assistant Professor of Psychology at Middle Tennessee State University.

Thomas Li-Ping Tang (Ph.D., Case Western Reserve University) is a Full Professor of Management in the Department of Management and Marketing, Jennings A. Jones College of Business at Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU), Murfreesboro, Tennessee, 37132. He has taught Industrial and Organizational Psychology at National Taiwan University and at MTSU. His primary research interests are in work motivation, compensation, money attitudes, the Love of Money, unethical behavior, pay satisfaction, turnover, stress, and cross-cultural issues. He has published more than 100 journal articles (e.g., Journal of Applied Psychology, Personnel Psychology, Human Relations, Journal of Management, Management Research, Journal of Organizational Behavior, and Journal of Business Ethics) and presented more than 180 papers in professional conferences and invited seminars around the world. He is (was) a member of the review board for 5 journals and serves as a reviewer for 26 journals around the world. He was the winner of two Outstanding Research Awards (1991, 1999) and Distinguished International Service Award (1999) at Middle Tennessee State University. He also received the Best Reviewer Award from the International Management Division of the Academy of Management in Seattle, WA (2003).

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Chen, YJ., Tang, T.LP. Attitude Toward and Propensity to Engage in Unethical Behavior: Measurement Invariance across Major among University Students. J Bus Ethics 69, 77–93 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-006-9069-6

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