Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Measuring Ethical Ideology in Business Ethics: A Critical Analysis of the Ethics Position Questionnaire

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

Abstract

Individual differences in ethical ideology are believed to play a key role in ethical decision making. Forsyth’s (1980) Ethics Position Questionnaire (EPQ) is designed to measure ethical ideology along two dimensions, relativism and idealism. This study extends the work of Forsyth by examining the construct validity of the EPQ. Confirmatory factor analyses conducted with independent samples indicated three factors – idealism, relativism, and veracity – account for the relationships among EPQ items. In order to provide further evidence of the instrument’s nomological and convergent validity, correlations among the EPQ subscales, dogmatism, empathy, and individual differences in the use of moral rationales were examined. The relationship between EPQ measures of idealism and moral judgments demonstrated modest predictive validity, but the appreciably weaker influence of relativism and the emergence of a veracity factor raise questions about the utility of the EPQ typology.

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

References

  • Anderson, J. C. and D. W. Gerbing: 1988, ‘Structural Equation Modeling in Practice: A Review and Recommend Two-Step Approach’, Psychological Bulletin 103, 411–423.

    Google Scholar 

  • Arbuckle, J. L.: 1996, Amos Users’ Guide: Version 3.6 (SmallWaters Corporation, Chicago).

    Google Scholar 

  • Barnett, T., K. Bass andG. Brown: 1994, ‘Ethical Ideology and Ethical Judgment Regarding Ethical Issues in Business’, Journal of Business Ethics 13, 469–480.

    Google Scholar 

  • Barnett, T., K. Bass andG. Brown: 1996, ‘Religiosity, Ethical Ideology and Intentions to Report a Peer's Wrongdoing’, Journal of Business Ethics 15, 1161–1174.

    Google Scholar 

  • Barnhart, R. K.: 1995, The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology (HarperCollins, New York).

    Google Scholar 

  • Bateson, C. D.: 1991, The Altruism Question: Toward a Social-Psychological Answer (Erlbaum, Hillsdale, NJ).

    Google Scholar 

  • Bollen, K. A.: 1989, Structural Equations with Latent Variables (Wiley, New York).

    Google Scholar 

  • Campbell, J. P.: 1976, ‘Psychometric Theory’, in M. D. Dunnette (ed.), Handbook of Industrial and Organizational Psychology (Rand McNally, Chicago), pp. 185–222.

    Google Scholar 

  • Candee, D. and L. Kohlberg: 1987, ‘Moral Judgment and Moral Action: A Reanalysis of Haan, Smith, and Block's (1968) Free Speech Movement Data’, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 52, 554–564.

    Google Scholar 

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

    Google Scholar 

  • Cohen, J.: 1983, ‘The Cost of Dichotomization’, Applied Psychological Measurement 7, 249–253.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cohen, J., L. Pant andD. Sharp: 1993, ‘A Validation and Extension of a Multidimensional Ethics Scale’, Journal of Business Ethics 12, 13–26.

    Google Scholar 

  • Davis, M. H.: 1980, ‘A Multidimensional Approach to Individual Differences in Empathy’, Catalog of Selected Documents in Psychology 10, 85.

    Google Scholar 

  • Davis, M. A., N. B. Johnson andD. G. Ohmer, D.: 1998, ‘Issue-Contingent Effects on Ethical Decision Making: A Cross-Cultural Comparison’, Journal of Business Ethics 17, 373–389.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ferrell, O. C. and L. G. Gresham: 1985, ‘A Contingency Framework for Understanding Ethical Decision Making in Marketing’, Journal of Marketing 49 (Summer), 87–96.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ford, R. C. and W. D. Richardson: 1994, ‘Ethical Decision Making: A Review of the Empirical Literature’, Journal of Business Ethics 13, 205–221.

    Google Scholar 

  • Forsyth, D. R.: 1978, ‘Moral Attribution and the Evaluation of Action’, unpublished doctoral dissertation (University of Florida, Gainesville, FL).

    Google Scholar 

  • Forsyth, D. R.: 1980, ‘A Taxonomy of Ethical Ideologies’, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 39, 175–184.

    Google Scholar 

  • Forsyth, D. R.: 1985, ‘Individual Differences in Information Integration During Moral Judgment’, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 49, 264–272.

    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.

    Google Scholar 

  • Forsyth, D. R. andNye, J. L.,: 1990, ‘Personal Moral Philosophy and Moral Choice’, Journal of Research in Personality 24, 388–414.

    Google Scholar 

  • Forsyth, D. R., J. L. Nye andK. Kelley: 1988, ‘Idealism, Relativism, and the Ethic of Caring’, The Journal of Psychology 122, 243–248.

    Google Scholar 

  • Forsyth, D. R. and W. R. Pope, 1984: ‘Ethical Ideology and Judgments of Social Psychological Research: Multidimensional Analysis’, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 46, 1365–1375.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gerbing, D. W. and J. C. Anderson: 1988, ‘An Updated Paradigm for Scale Development Incorporating Unidimensionality and Its Assessment’, Journal of Marketing Research 25, 186–192.

    Google Scholar 

  • Giacalone, R. A., S. Fricker andJ. W. Beard: 1995, ‘The Impact of Ethical Ideology on Modifiers of Ethical Decisions and Suggested Punishment for Ethical Infractions’, Journal of Business Ethics 14, 497–510.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gilligan, C.: 1982, In a Different Voice (Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA).

    Google Scholar 

  • Grover, S. L. and C. Hui: 1994, ‘The Influence of Role Conflict and Self-Interest on Lying in Organization’, Journal of Business Ethics 13, 295–303.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hoffman, M. L: 1981, ‘Is Altruism Part of Human Nature?’, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 40, 121–137.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hogan, R.: 1970, ‘A dimension of Moral Judgment’, Journal of Clinical and Counseling Psychology 35, 205–212.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hogan, R.: 1973, ‘Moral Conduct and Moral Character: A Psychological Perspective’, Psychological Bulletin 79, 217–232.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hunt, S. D. and Scott Vitell: 1986, ‘A General Theory of Marketing Ethics’, Journal of Macromarketing 8 (Spring), 5–16.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jones, T. M.: 1991, ‘Ethical Decision Making by Individuals in Organizations: An Issue-Contingent Model’, Academy of Management Journal 16, 366–395.

    Google Scholar 

  • Keller, C. E. Jr.: 1998, ‘An Experimental Investigation of How Ethical Orientations, Tax Rates, Penalty Rates, and Audit Rates Affect Tax Compliance Decisions.’ Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Tennessee.

  • Kerlinger, F.: 1986, Foundations of Behavioral Research (Holt, Rinehart and Winston, New York).

    Google Scholar 

  • Keyton, J. and S. C. Rhodes: 1997, ‘Sexual Harassment: A Matter of Individual Ethics, Legal Definitions, or Organizational Policy?’, Journal of Business Ethics 16, 129–146.

    Google Scholar 

  • Leary, M. R., P. D. Knight andB. D. Barnes: 1986, ‘Ethical Ideologies of the Machiavellian’, Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin 12, 75–80.

    Google Scholar 

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

    Google Scholar 

  • Pedhazur, E. J. and L. P. Schmelkin: 1991, Measurement, Design, and Analysis: An Integrated Approach (Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Hillsdale, NJ).

    Google Scholar 

  • Randall, D. M. and A. M. Gibson: 1990, ‘Methodology in Business Ethics Research: A Review and Critical Assessment’, Journal of Business Ethics 9, 457–471.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rawwas, M. Y. A.: 1996, ‘Consumer Ethics: An Empirical Investigation of the Ethical Beliefs of Austrian Consumers’, Journal of Business Ethics 15, 1009–1019.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rawwas, M. Y. A., S. J. Vitell andJ. A. Al-Khatib: 1994, ‘Consumer Ethics: The Possible Effects of Terrorism and Civil Unrest on the Ethical Values of Consumers’, Journal of Business Ethics 13, 223–231.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ray, J. J.: 1970, ‘The Development and Validation of a Balanced Dogmatism Scale’, Australian Journal of Psychology 22, 253–260.

    Google Scholar 

  • Reidenbach, R. E. and D. P. Robin: 1988, ‘Some Initial Steps Toward Improving the Measurement of Ethical Evaluations of Marketing Activities’, Journal of Business Ethics 7, 871–879.

    Google Scholar 

  • Reidenbach, R. E. and D. P. Robin: 1990, ‘Toward the Development of a Multidimensional Scale for Improving Evaluations of Business Ethics’, Journal of Business Ethics 9, 639–653.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rokeach, M.: 1960, The Open and Closed Mind (Basic Books, New York).

    Google Scholar 

  • Rushton, J. P., R. D. Chrisjohn andG. C. Fekken: 1981, ‘The Altruistic Personality and the Self-Report Altruism Scale’, Personality and Individual Differences 2, 293–302.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schwab, D.: 1980, ‘Construct Validity in Organizational Behavior’, in B. Staw andL. Cummings (eds.), Research in Organizational Behavior, Vol. 2 (JAI, Greenwich, CT), pp. 3–43.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shaub, M. K., D. W. Finn andP. Munter: 1993, ‘The Effects of Auditors’ Ethical Orientation on Commitment and Ethical Sensitivity', Behavioral Research in Accounting 5, 145–169.

    Google Scholar 

  • Singhapakdi, A., K. L. Kraft,S. J. Vitell andK. C. Rallapalli: 1995, ‘The Perceived Importance of Ethics and Social Responsibility on Organizational Effectiveness: A Survey of Marketers’, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science 23 (Winter), 49–56.

    Google Scholar 

  • Singhapakdi, A., S. J. Vitell andG. R. Franke: 1999, ‘Antecedents, Consequences, and Mediating Effects of Perceived Moral Intensity and Personal Moral Philosophies’, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science 27 (Winter), 19–36.

    Google Scholar 

  • Smith, C. A.,Organ, D. W. andNear, J. P.: (1983), ‘Organizational Citizenship Behavior: Its Nature and Antecedents’, Journal of Applied Psychology 68, 653–683.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sparks, J. R. and S. D. Hunt: 1998, ‘Marketing Researcher Ethical Sensitivity: Conceptualization, Measurement, and Exploratory Investigation’, Journal of Marketing 62 (April), 92–109.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stead, W. E.,D. L. Worrell and J. G. Stead: 1990, ‘An Integrated Model for Understanding and Managing Ethical Behavior in Business Organizations’, Journal of Business Ethics 9(3), 233–242.

    Google Scholar 

  • Strudler, A.: 1995, ‘On the Ethics of Deception in Negotiation’, Business Ethics Quarterly 5(4), 805–822.

    Google Scholar 

  • Trevino, L. K.: 1986, ‘Ethical Decision-Making in Organizations: A Person-Situation Interactionist Model. Academy of Management Review 11, 601–617.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vitell, S. J., J. R. Lumpkin andM. Y. A. Rawwas: 1991, ‘Consumer Ethics: An Investigation of the Ethical Beliefs of Elderly Consumers’, Journal of Business Ethics 10, 365–375.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Management, College of Business Administration, University of North Texas, Denton, TX 76203, U.S.A.

    Mark A. Davis

  2. School of Management, Gatton College of Business and Economics, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, 40506-0034, U.S.A.

    Mark G. Andersen

  3. Department of Accounting, College of Business Administration, University of North Texas, Denton, TX, 76203, U.S.A.

    Mary B. Curtis

Authors
  1. Mark A. Davis
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Mark G. Andersen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Mary B. Curtis
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Davis, M.A., Andersen, M.G. & Curtis, M.B. Measuring Ethical Ideology in Business Ethics: A Critical Analysis of the Ethics Position Questionnaire. Journal of Business Ethics 32, 35–53 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1010701417165

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1010701417165

Search

Navigation