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Comparing Corporate Managers' Personal Values Over Three Decades, 1967--1995

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Abstract

What is the nature of the decision-related personal values of corporate management? Managers' attitudes and behaviors are built upon their personal value systems (PVS). Knowledge about the structure of management's PVS assists in understanding the attributes of corporate decision making. Utilizing a survey instrument developed and used by England (1967, 1975), this article updates this research into corporate managers' personal value systems. England's PVS consists of sixty-six pre-tested values clustered into five groups. As one could expect with personal values, statistical tests reveal that even with dramatic changes in the business environment the overall personal values structure has not changed over the intervening three decades. The results also reveal that corporate managers retain their pragmatic value orientation as discussed by England.

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Oliver, B.L. Comparing Corporate Managers' Personal Values Over Three Decades, 1967--1995. Journal of Business Ethics 20, 147–161 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1006196927745

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