Abstract
Unethical decision-making behavior within organizations has received increasing attention over the past ten years. As a result, a plethora of studies have examined the relationship between gender and business ethics. However, these studies report conflicting results as to whether or not men and women differ with regards to business ethics. In this article, we propose that gender identity theory [Spence: 1993, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 64, 624–635], provides both the theory and empirical measures to explore the influence of psychological gender traits and gender-role attitudes on ethical perceptions of workplace behaviors. Statistical analyses of the data reveal that based on sex alone, no differences occur between men and women in their ethical perceptions. Yet, when a multidimensional approach to gender is applied, results show that expressive traits and egalitarian gender-role attitudes contribute to both men’s and women’s propensity to perceive unethical workplace behaviors as unethical. The implications of these findings and suggestions for future research are presented.
Abbreviations
- GRA:
-
gender-role attitudes
- MFRQ:
-
male–female relations questionnaire
- PAQ:
-
personal attributes questionnaire
References
D. Aldrich R. Kage (2003) ArticleTitle‘Mars and Venus at Twilight: A Critical Investigation of Moralism, Age Effects and Sex Differences’ Political Psychology 24 IssueID1 23–40 Occurrence Handle10.1111/0162-895X.00315
C. N. Axinn M. E. Blair A. Heorhiadi S. V. Thach (2004) ArticleTitle‘Comparing Ethical Ideologies Across Cultures’ Journal of Business Ethics 54 103–119 Occurrence Handle10.1007/s10551-004-0663-1
J. H. Barnett M. J. Karson (1989) ArticleTitle‘Managers, Values, and Executive Decisions: An Exploration of the Role of Gender, Career Stage, Organizational Level, Function, and the Importance of Ethics, Relationships and Results in Managerial Decision-making’ Journal of Business Ethics 8 747–771 Occurrence Handle10.1007/BF00383775
S. L. Bem (1974) ArticleTitle‘The Measurement of Psychological Androgyny’ Journal of Consulting Clinical Psychology 42 155–162
S. L. Bem (1981) ArticleTitle‘Gender Schema Theory: A Cognitive Account of Sex Typing’ Psychological Review 88 354–364
L. D. Bendixen G. Schraw M. E. Dunke (1998) ArticleTitle‘Epistemic Beliefs and Moral Reasoning’ The Journal of Psychology 132 IssueID2 187–200
D. S. Beu M. Buckley Ronald M. G. Harvey (2003) ArticleTitle‘Ethical Decision-Making: A Multidimensional Construct’ Business Ethics: A European Review 12 IssueID1 88–197 Occurrence Handle10.1111/1467-8608.00308
M. Bommer V. Gratt J. Gravander M. Tuttle (1987) ArticleTitle‘A Behavorial Model of Ethical and Unethical Decision Making’ Journal of Business Ethics 6 265–280 Occurrence Handle10.1007/BF00382936
S. Borna G. White (2003) ArticleTitle‘Sex and Gender: Two Confused and Confusing Concepts in the “Women in Corporate Management” Literature’ Journal of Business Ethics 47 89–99 Occurrence Handle10.1023/A:1026082400801
J. Bristor E. Fischer (1993) ArticleTitle‘Feminist Thought: Implications for Consumer Research’ Journal of Consumer Research 19 518–536 Occurrence Handle10.1086/209320
Business for Social Responsibility: 2003, ‘Overview of Business Ethics’, http://www.bsr.org, 1–43.
Callahan, D.: 2004, The Cheating Culture: Why More Americans Are Doing Wrong to Get Ahead, (Harcourt, Inc).
N. Choi (2004) ArticleTitle‘A Psychometric Examination of the Personal Attributes Questionnaire’ The Journal of Social Psychology 144 IssueID3 348–352
L. D. Cohn (1991) ArticleTitle‘Sex Differences in the Course of Personality Development: A Meta. Analysis’ Psychological Bulletin 109 IssueID2 252–266 Occurrence Handle10.1037/0033-2909.109.2.252
J. A. Costa (1994) ArticleTitle‘Gender Issues: Gender as a Cultural Construct’ in Advances of Consumer Research 21 372–373
W. Damon (1988) The Moral Child The Free Press New York
L. M. Dawson (1997) ArticleTitle‘Ethical Differences Between Men and Women in the Sales Profession’ Journal of Business Ethics 16 IssueID1 1143–1152 Occurrence Handle10.1023/A:1005721916646
J. Dobson J. White (1995) ArticleTitle‘Toward the Feminine Firm: An Extension to Thomas White’ Business Ethics Quarterly 5 IssueID3 463–478
V. J. Edwards J. T. Spence (1987) ArticleTitle‘Gender-Related Traits, Stereotypes, and Schemata’ Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 56 IssueID1 95–108
A. Forte (2004) ArticleTitle‘Antecedents of Managers Moral Reasoning’ Journal of Business Ethics 51 315–347
M. France (2004) ArticleTitle‘The New Accountability’ Businessweek 26 30–33
G. R. Franke D. F. Crown D. F. Spake (1997) ArticleTitle‘Gender Differences in Ethical Perceptions of Business Practices: A Social Role Theory Perspective’ Journal of Applied Psychology 82 920–934 Occurrence Handle10.1037/0021-9010.82.6.920
W. J. Friedman A. B. Robinson B. L. Friedman (1987) ArticleTitle‘Sex Differences in Moral Judgments: A Test of Gilligan’s Theory’ Psychology of Women Quarterly 11 37–46
J. C. Gibbs (1991) ArticleTitle‘Toward an integration of Kohlberg’s and Hoffman’s theories of morality’ Human Development 34 88–104
Gilligan, C.: 1982, In a Different Voice: Psychological Theory and Women’s Development (Harvard University Press).
B. Gimbel K. Naughton (2004) ArticleTitle‘A Diva in Distress’ Newsweek 16 36–37
Grimshaw, J.: 1999, ‘The Idea of a Female Ethic’, in Peter Singer (ed.), A Companion to Ethics (Blackwell Publishers, Inc.).
Hair, J. F., R. E. Anderson, R. L, Tatham, and W. C. Black: 1995, Multivariate Data Analysis, 4th Edition, (Prentice Hall).
R. L. Helmreich J. T. Spence C. K. Holohan (1979) ArticleTitle‘Psychological Androgyny and Sex Role Flexibility: A Test of Two Hypotheses’ Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 37 1631–1644
R. L. Helmreich J. T. Spence J. A. Wilhelm (1981) ArticleTitle‘A Psychometric Analysis of the Personal Attributes Questionnaire’ Sex Roles 7 1097–1108 Occurrence Handle10.1007/BF00287587
G. Hofstede (1980) Culture’s Consequences: International Differences in Work-Related Values Sage Publications Beverly Hills, CA
G. Hofstede (1991) Cultures and Organizations: Software of the Mind McGraw Hill International London
G. Hofstede (2001) Culture’s Consequences: Comparing Values, Behaviors, Institutions, and Organizations Across Nations Sage Publications Thousand Oaks, CA
A. Hunt (1997) ArticleTitle‘Are Women more Ethical than Men?’ Baylor Business Review 15 IssueID1 p. 7
S. W. Kelley O. C. Ferrell S. J. Skinner (1990) ArticleTitle‘Ethical Behavior Among Marketing Researchers: An Assessment of Selected Demographic Characteristics’ Journal of Business Ethics 9 681–688 Occurrence Handle10.1007/BF00383395
J. M. Kidwell R. E. Stephens A. L. Bethke (1987) ArticleTitle‘Differences in Ethical Perceptions Between Males and Female Managers: Myth or Reality’ Journal of Business Ethics 6 489–493 Occurrence Handle10.1007/BF00383291
Kohut, G. F. and S. E. Corriher: 1994, ‘The Relationship of Age, Gender, Experiences and Awareness of Written Ethics Policies to Business Decision Making’, SAM Advanced Management Journal Winter, 32–39.
J. Kujala T. Pietiläinen (2004) ArticleTitle‘Female Managers’ Ethical Decision-Making: A Multidimensional Approach’ Journal of Business Ethics 53 153–163 Occurrence Handle10.1023/B:BUSI.0000039405.20533.1c
P. D. Lifton (1985) ArticleTitle‘Individual Differences in moral development: The relation of sex, gender, and personality to morality’ Journal of Personality 53 IssueID2 306–334
E. S. Mason P. E. Mudrack (1996) ArticleTitle‘Gender and Ethical Orientation: A Test of Gender and Occupational Socialization Theories’ Journal of Business Ethics 15 IssueID6 599–604 Occurrence Handle10.1007/BF00411793
McCabe, A. C: 2001, ‘Gender Effects on Attitudes Toward Sports Consumption’, Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY.
McCabe, A. C., M. Joyce, and D. Lambert: 1997, ‘Can Femininity Kill You? The Effects of Psychological Gender on Women’s Perceptions of Weight Lifting as an Osteoporosis Preventive Measure’, in J. John and R, Sylvester (eds.), Association for Health Care Research Annual Conference Proceedings, pp. 55–62.
D. L. McCabe L. K. Trevino K. D. Butterfield (2001) ArticleTitle‘Cheating in Academic Institutions: A Decade of Research’ Ethics and Behavior 11 IssueID3 219–232
C. McDaniel N. Schoeps J. Lincourt (2001) ArticleTitle‘Organizational Ethics: Perceptions of Employees by Gender’ Journal of Business Ethics 33 245–256 Occurrence Handle10.1023/A:1017593508147
G. McGee (2003) Beyond Genetics Harper Collins Publishers William Morrow
Mednick, M. T.: 1989, ‘On the Politics of Psychological Constructs’, American Psychologist August, 1118–1123.
Moran, N.: 2004, ‘What Determines Corruption? International Evidence from Micro Data’, Working Paper (NBER) 1–49.
Nonis, S. and C. Owens Swift: 2001, ‘An Examination of the Relationship between Academic Dishonesty and Workplace Dishonesty: A Multicampus Investigation’, Journal of Education for Business November/December, 69–77.
E. J. Pedhazur L. P. Schmelkin (1991) Measurement, Design, and Analysis: An Integrated Approach Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Hillsdale, NJ
R. A. Peterson (1994) ArticleTitle‘A Meta-Analysis of Cronbach’s Coefficient Alpha’ Journal of Consumer Research 21 381–391 Occurrence Handle10.1086/209405
R. E. Reidenbach D. P. Robin (1990) ArticleTitle‘Toward the Development of a Multidimensional Scale for Improving Evaluations of Business Ethics’ Journal of Business Ethics 9 639–653 Occurrence Handle10.1007/BF00383391
D. Robin L. Babin (1997) ArticleTitle‘Making Sense of the Research on Gender and Ethics in Business: A Critical Analysis and Extension’ Business Ethics Quarterly 7 61–90
M. L. Roxas J. Y. Stoneback (2004) ArticleTitle‘The Importance of Gender Across Cultures in Ethical Decision-Making’ Journal of Business Ethics 50 149–165 Occurrence Handle10.1023/B:BUSI.0000022127.51047.ef
Roughgarden, J.: 2004, Evolution’s Rainbow: Diversity, Gender, and Sexuality in Nature and People (University of California Press).
Ruch, W. A. and J. W. Newstrom: 1975, ‘How Ethical Are We?’, Supervisory Management November, 18.
S. Sayre M. L. Joyce D. R. Lambert (1991) ArticleTitle‘Gender and Sales Ethics: Are Women Penalized Less Severely Than Their Male Counterparts?’ Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management 11 IssueID4 50–54
Scanzoni, J.: (1975), ‘Sex Roles, Economic Factors, and Marital Solidarity in Black and White Marriages’, Journal of Marriage and the Family February, 131–144.
L. J. Skitka C. Maslach (1990) ArticleTitle‘Gender Roles and the Categorization of Gender-Relevant Behavior’ Sex Roles 22 IssueID3–4 133–149
E. E. A. Skoe A. Cumberland N. Eisenberg K. Hansen J. Perry (2002) ArticleTitle‘The Influences of Sex and Gender-Role Identity on Moral Cognition and Prosocial Personality Traits’ Sex Roles 46 IssueID9/10 295–309 Occurrence Handle10.1023/A:1020224512888
P. L. Smith E. F. Oakely SuffixIII (1997) ArticleTitle‘Gender-Related Differences in Ethical and Social Values of Business Students: Implications for Management’ Journal of Business Ethics 16 37–45 Occurrence Handle10.1023/A:1017995530951
J. T. Spence (1993) ArticleTitle‘Gender-related Traits and Gender Ideology: Evidence for a Multifactorial Theory’ Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 64 IssueID4 624–635 Occurrence Handle10.1037/0022-3514.64.4.624
J. T. Spence C. E. Buckner (2000) ArticleTitle‘Instrumental and Expressive Traits, Trait Stereotypes, and Sexist Attitudes’ Psychology of Women Quarterly 24 44–62
J. T. Spence R. L. Helmreich (1978) Masculinity and Femininity: Their Psychological Dimensions, Correlates and Antecedents University of Texas Press Austin, TX
J. T. Spence R. L. Helmreich (1979) ArticleTitle‘The many faces of androgyny; A reply to Locksley and Colten’ Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 37 1032–1046 Occurrence Handle10.1037//0022-3514.37.10.1631
Spence, J. T., R. L. Helmreich, and J. Stapp: 1974, ‘The Personal Attributes Questionnaire: A Measure of Sex-Role Stereotypes and Masculinity and Femininity’, JSAS: Catalog of Selected Documents in Psychology4(43).
J. T. Spence R. L. Helmreich J. Stapp (1975) ArticleTitle‘Ratings of Self and Peers on Sex Role Attributes and their Relations to Self-esteem and Conceptions of Masculinity and Femininity’ Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 32 29–39
J. T. Spence R. L. Helmreich L. L. Sawin (1980) ArticleTitle‘The Male–Female Relations Questionnaire: A self-report measure of sex role behaviors and preferences and their relationships to masculine and feminine personality traits, sex role attitudes and other measures’ JSAS: Catalog of Selected Documents in Psychology 10 IssueID87 1–35
J. T. Spence L. L. Sawin (1985) Images of masculinity and femininity: A reconceptualization V. O’Leary R. Unger B. Wallston (Eds) Sex, gender and social psychology Erlbaum Hillsdale, NJ
W. E. Stead D. L. Worrell J. G. Stead (1990) ArticleTitle‘An Integrative Model for Understanding and Managing Ethical Behavior in Business Organizations’ Journal of Business Ethics 9 IssueID3 233–243 Occurrence Handle10.1007/BF00382649
Hung-En Sung (2003) ArticleTitle‘Fairer Sex or Fairer System? Gender and Corruption Revisited’ Social Forces 82 IssueID2 703–723 Occurrence Handle10.1353/sof.2004.0028
A. Swaymi S. Knack Y. Lee O. Azfar (2001) ArticleTitle‘Gender and Corruption’ Journal of Development Economics 64 25–55
Tavris, C.: 1992, The Mismeasure of Woman: Why Women are Not the Better Sex, The Inferior Sex, or the Opposite Sex (Simon and Schuster).
D. E. Terpstra E. J. Rozell R. K. Robinson (1993) ArticleTitle‘The Influence of Personality and Demographic Variables on Ethical Decisions Related to Insider Trading’ The Journal of Psychology 127 IssueID4 375–390
S. Thoma (1986) ArticleTitle‘Estimating gender differences in the comprehension and preferences of moral issues’ Developmental Review 6 165–180 Occurrence Handle10.1016/0273-2297(86)90010-9
E. Turiel (1994) Morality, Authoritarianism, and Personal Agency in Cultural Contexts R. J. Sternberg P. Ruzgis (Eds) Personality and Intelligence Cambridge University Press Cambridge, England 271–302
A. Venkatesh (1980) ArticleTitle‘Changing Roles of Women – A Life-Style Analysis’ Journal of Consumer Research 7 189–197 Occurrence Handle10.1086/208806
V. A. Wadja-Johnson P. J. Handel P. A. Brawer A. N. Fabricatore (2001) ArticleTitle‘Academic Dishonesty at the Graduate Level’ Ethics and Business 11 IssueID3 287–305
G. R. Wark D. L. Krebs (1996) ArticleTitle‘Gender and Dilemma Differences in Real-Life Moral Judgment’ Developmental Psychology 32 IssueID2 220–230 Occurrence Handle10.1037/0012-1649.32.2.220
W. A. Weeks C. W. Moore J. A. McKinney J. G. Longenecker (1999) ArticleTitle‘The Effects of Gender and Career Stage on Ethical Judgment’ Journal of Business Ethics 20 IssueID4 301–313 Occurrence Handle10.1023/A:1005955501120
Weiss, W. H.: 1997, ‘The Need for Ethical Behavior’, Supervision December, 15–18.
B. E. Whitley SuffixJr. A. B. Nelson C. J. Jones (1999) ArticleTitle‘Gender Differences in Cheating Attitudes and Classroom Cheating Behavior: A Meta-Analysis’ Sex Roles 41 IssueID9/10 657–680. Occurrence Handle10.1023/A:1018863909149
C. Yeh-Yun Lin (1999) ArticleTitle‘A Comparison of Perceptions about Business Ethics in Four Countries’ The Journal of Psychology 133 IssueID6 641–655
Young, S.: 2003, Moral Capitalism (Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc.).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
McCabe, A.C., Ingram, R. & Dato-on, M.C. ‘The Business of Ethics and Gender’. J Bus Ethics 64, 101–116 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-005-3327-x
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-005-3327-x