Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Individual Ethical Orientations and the Perceived Acceptability of Questionable Finance Ethics Decisions

  • Published:
Journal of Business Ethics Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Finance is an area that, in practice, is plagued by accusations of unethical activity; the study of finance had adopted a largely nonbehavioral approach to business ethics research. We address this gap in by assessing whether individual ethical orientations (moral identity, idealism, relativism, integrity, Machiavellianism) predict the acceptability of questionable decisions about financial issues. Results show that individual ethical orientations are associated with different levels of acceptability of questionable decisions about financial issues, though the pattern of these differences varies across individual ethical orientations assessed. These results represent evidence that ethical individual differences are associated with the acceptability of questionable finance decisions and are discussed in terms of methodological limitations and future directions in finance ethics research.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. The idealism scale correlates .92 with the original subscale; the relativism scale correlates .89 with the original subscale.

References

  • Ameen, E. C., Guffey, D. M., & McMillan, J. J. (1996). Gender differences in determining the ethical sensitivity of future accounting professionals. Journal of Business Ethics, 15(5), 591–597.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Aquino, K., & Reed, A. I. I. (2002). The self-importance of moral identity. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 83, 1423–1440.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Barry, C. M., Sackett, P. S., & Wiemann, S. (2007). A review of recent developments in integrity test research. Personnel Psychology, 60, 271–301.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bartholomew, C. S., & Gustafson, S. B. (1998). Perceived leader integrity scale: An instrument for assessing employee perceptions of leader integrity. Leadership Quarterly, 9, 127–146.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Boal, K. B., & Peery, N. (1985). The cognitive structure of corporate social responsibility. Journal of Management, 11, 71–82.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Calomiris, C. W. (2008). The subprime turmoil: What’s old, what’s new, and what’s next? American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research. http://www.aei.org/paper/28720.

  • Christie, R., & Geis, F. (1970). Studies in Machiavellianism. New York: Academic Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dahling, J. J., Whitaker, B. G., & Levy, P. E. (2009). The development and validation of a new Machiavellianism scale. Journal of Management, 35(2), 219–257.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Davis, M. A., Andersen, M. G., & Curtis, M. B. (2001). Measuring ethical ideology in business ethics: A critical analysis of the Ethics Position Questionnaire. Journal of Business Ethics, 32, 35–53.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Den Hartog, D., & Belschak, F. (2012). Work engagement and Machiavellianism in the ethical leadership process. Journal of Business Ethics, 107(1), 35–47.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Elm, D., & Nichols, M. L. (1993). An investigation of the moral reasoning of managers. Journal of Business Ethics, 12, 817–833.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fehr, B., Samson, D., & Paulhus, D. L. (1992). The construct of Machiavellianism: Twenty years later. In C. Spielberger & J. Butcher (Eds.), Advances in personality assessment (Vol. 9, pp. 77–116). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Forsyth, D. R. (1980). A taxonomy of ethical ideologies. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 39, 175–184.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Forsyth, D. R. (1981). Moral judgment: The influence of ethical ideology. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 7, 218–223.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Forsyth, D. R. (1992). Judging the morality of business practices: The influence of personal moral philosophies. Journal of Business Ethics, 11, 461–470.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Forsyth, D. K., Nye, J. L., & Kelley, K. (1988). Idealism, relativism, and the ethic of caring. Journal of Psychology, 122, 243–248.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Forsyth, D. R., & Pope, W. R. (1984). Ethical ideology and judgments of social psychological research: A multidimensional analysis. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 46, 1365–1375.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gilligan, C. (1982). In a different voice: Psychological theory and women’s development. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Greenberg, J. (2002). Who stole the money, and when? Individual and situational determinants of employee theft. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 89(1), 985–1003.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Harrell, W. A., & Hartnagel, T. (1976). The impact of Machiavellianism and the trustfulness of the victim on laboratory theft. Sociometry, 39, 157–165.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Heineman, B. W, Jr. (2007). Avoiding integrity land mines. Harvard Business Review, 85, 100–108.

    Google Scholar 

  • Henle, C. A., Giacalone, R. A., & Jurkiewicz, C. L. (2005). The role of ethical ideology in employee deviance. Journal of Business Ethics, 56, 219–230.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hunt, S. D., & Chonko, L. B. (1984). Marketing and machiavellianism. The Journal of Marketing, 48, 30–42.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Johnson, R. M., & Schlenker, B. R. (2007). Assessing the commitment to ethical principles: Psychometric properties of the Integrity Scale. Unpublished manuscript, University of Florida.

  • Jones, T. M. (1991). Ethical decision making by individuals in organizations: An issue-contingent model. Academy of Management Review, 16, 366–395.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jones, T. M., & Ryan, L. V. (1997). The link between ethical judgment and action in organizations: A moral approbation approach. Organization Science, 8, 663–680.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Judge, T. A., Ilies, R., & Scott, B. A. (2006). Work-family conflict and emotions: Effects at work and at home. Personnel Psychology, 59, 779–814.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kane, E. J. (2012). Missing elements in US financial reform: A Kübler-Ross interpretation of the inadequacy of the Dodd-Frank Act. Journal of Banking & Finance, 36(3), 654–661.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kohlberg, L. (1958). The development of modes of thinking and choices in years 10 to 16. Ph. D. Dissertation, University of Chicago.

  • Kohlberg, L. (1984). The psychology of moral development: The nature and validity of moral stages. In Essays on moral development (Vol. 2). New York: Harper & Row.

  • Machiavelli, N. (1981). The prince. New York: Bantam Books. (Original work published 1513).

    Google Scholar 

  • Machiavelli, N. (1984). The discourses. New York: Penguin. (Original work published 1531).

    Google Scholar 

  • Mayer, D. M., Aquino, K., Greenbaum, R. L., & Kuenzi, M. (2012). Who displays ethical leadership and why does it matter? An examination of antecedents and consequences of ethical leadership. Academy of Management Journal, 55, 151–171.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mian, A., & Sufi, A. (2008). The consequences of mortgage credit expansion: Evidence from the 2007 mortgage default crisis. NBER Working Paper No. 13936.

  • Miller, M. L., & Schlenker, B. R. (2007). Integrity and identity: Triangulating private and public perceptions of moral identity. Unpublished manuscript, University of Florida.

  • Mount, M., Ilies, R., & Johnson, E. (2006). Relationship of personality traits and counterproductive work behaviors: The mediating effects of job satisfaction. Personnel Psychology, 59, 591–622.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mudrack, P. (2007). Individual personality factors that affect normative beliefs about the rightness of corporate social responsibility. Business and Society, 6, 33–62.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nunnally, J. C. (1978). Psychometric theory. New York: McGraw-Hill.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pearson, C. M., Andersson, L. M., & Wegner, J. W. (2001). When workers flout convention: A study of workplace incivility. Human Relations, 54(11), 1387–1419.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Piccolo, R. F., & Colquitt, J. A. (2006). Transformational leadership and job behaviors: The mediating role of job characteristics. Academy of Management Journal, 49, 327–340.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ponemon, L. (1990). Ethical judgments in accounting: A cognitive-developmental perspective. Critical Perspectives on Accounting, 1, 191–215.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Posner, R. A. (2009). A failure of capitalism. The crisis of ‘08 and the descent into depression. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Reibstein, D. J., Day, G., & Wind, J. (2009). Guest editorial: Is marketing academia losing its way? Journal of Marketing, 73(4), 1–3.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rest, J. R. (1979). Development in judging moral issues. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rosenfeld, P., Giacalone, R. A., & Riordan, C. (2002). Impression management: Building and enhancing reputations at work. London: Thompson Learning.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rubin, Z., & Peplau, L. A. (1975). Who believes in a just world? Journal of Social Issues, 31, 65–90.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sakalaki, M., Richardson, C., & Thepaut, Y. (2007). Machiavellianism and economic opportunism. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 37, 1181–1190.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schlenker, B. R. (2008). Integrity and character: Implications of principled and expedient ethical ideologies. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 27, 1078–1125.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schlenker, B. R., & Forsyth, D. R. (1977). On the ethics of psychological research. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 13, 369–396.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schlenker, B. R., Weigold, M. F., & Schlenker, K. A. (2008). What makes a hero? The impact of integrity on admiration and interpersonal judgment. Journal of Personality, 76, 323–355.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schwepker, C. H, Jr, & Hartline, M. (2005). Managing the ethical climate of customer-contact service employees. Journal of Service Research, 7, 377–397.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Singhapakdi, A., Vitell, S. J., Rallapalli, K. C., & Kraft, K. L. (1996). The perceived role of ethics and social responsibility: A scale development. Journal of Business Ethics, 15, 1131–1140.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Skreta, V., & Veldkamp, L. (2009). Ratings shopping and asset complexity: A theory of ratings inflation. NBER Working Paper No. 14761.

  • Sparks, J. R. (1994). Machiavellianism and personal success in marketing: The moderating role of latitude for improvisation. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 22(4), 393–400.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stylianou, A., Winter, S., Niu, Y., Giacalone, R. A., & Campbell, M. (2012). Understanding behavioral intention to report unethical information technology practices: The role of Machiavellianism, gender and computer literacy. Journal of Business Ethics, 117(2), 333–343.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tenbrunsel, A. E., & Messick, D. M. (2004). Ethical fading: The role of self deception in unethical behavior. Social Justice Research, 17(2), 223–236.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tenbrunsel, A. E., & Smith-Crowe, K. (2008). Ethical decision making: Where we’ve been and where we’re going. Academy of Management Annals, 2, 545–607.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tepper, B. J. (2000). Consequences of abusive supervision. Academy of Management Journal, 43(2), 178–190.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Weber, J. (1988). The relationship between managerial value orientations and stages of moral development: Theory development and empirical investigation with behavioral implications. Doctoral Dissertation, University of Pittsburgh.

  • Winter, S., Stylianou, A., & Giacalone, R. (2004). Individual orientations in the acceptability of unethical information technology practices: The case of Machiavellianism and ethical ideology. Journal of Business Ethics, 54(3), 279–301.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Winterich, K. P., Aquino, K., Mittal, V., & Swartz, R. (2013). When moral identity symbolization motivates prosocial behavior: The role of recognition and moral identity internalization. Journal of Applied Psychology, 98(5), 759–770.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Reiman School of Finance, Daniels College of Business, University of Denver, Denver, USA

    Mac Clouse

  2. Department of Business Ethics and Legal Studies, Daniels College of Business, University of Denver, Denver, USA

    Robert A. Giacalone & Tricia D. Olsen

  3. School of Accountancy, Daniels College of Business, University of Denver, Denver, USA

    Lorenzo Patelli

Authors
  1. Mac Clouse
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Robert A. Giacalone
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Tricia D. Olsen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Lorenzo Patelli
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Robert A. Giacalone.

Additional information

The order of the final two authors was equal and listed in alphabetical order.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Clouse, M., Giacalone, R.A., Olsen, T.D. et al. Individual Ethical Orientations and the Perceived Acceptability of Questionable Finance Ethics Decisions. J Bus Ethics 144, 549–558 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-015-2798-7

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-015-2798-7

Keywords

Search

Navigation