Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Ethics and Religion: An Empirical Test of a Multidimensional Model

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

Abstract

Although it seems that ethics and religion should be related, past research suggests mixed conclusions on the relationship. We argue that such mixed results are mostly due to methodological and conceptual limitations. We develop hypotheses linking Cornwall et al.’s (1986, Review of Religious Research, 27(3): 266–244) religious components to individuals’ willingness to justify ethically suspect behaviors. Using data on 63,087 individuals from 44 countries, we find support for three hypotheses: the cognitive, one affective, and the behavioral component of religion are negatively related to ethics. Surprisingly, one aspect of the cognitive component (i.e., belief in religion) shows no relationship. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

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

  • Agle B. R., Van Buren. H. 1999. God and Mammon: The Modern Relationship. Business Ethics Quarterly, 9: 563–582

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ali A., Camp R., Gibbs M. 2000. The Ten Commandments: Perspective, Power and Authority in Organizations. Journal of Business Ethics, 26: 351–361

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Angelidis J., Ibrahim N. 2004. An Exploratory Study of the Impact of Degree of Religiousness upon an Individual’s Corporate Social Responsive Orientation. Journal of Business Ethics, 51: 119–128

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bagozzi R. P. 1994. Principles of Marketing Research. Cambridge, MA: Blacwell Publishers

    Google Scholar 

  • Barro R. J., McCleary R. M. 2003. Religion and Economic Growth Across Countries. American Sociological Review, 68: 760–781

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Berger, P. L.: 1969, The Sacred Canopy: Elements of a Sociological Theory of Religion. Garden City: Anchor

    Google Scholar 

  • Bradley D. E. 1995. Religious Involvement and Social Resources: Evidence from the Data Set’ Americans Changing Lives. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 34: 259–267

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Butterfield K., Trevino L. K., Weaver G. R. 2000. Moral Awareness in Organizations: Influence of Issue-Related and Social Context Factors. Human Relations, 53: 981–1008

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cohen J., Patricia C., Stephen G. W., Leona S. A. 2003. Applied Multiple Regression/Correlation analysis for the behavioral sciences, 3rd edition Mahwah, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates

    Google Scholar 

  • Conroy S. J., Emerson T. L. N. 2004. Business Ethics and Religion: Religiosity as a Predictor of Ethical Awareness among Students. Journal of Business Ethics, 50(4): 383–396

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cornwall M., Albrecht S. L., Cunningham P. H., Pitcher B. L. 1986. The Dimensions of Religiosity: A Conceptual Model with an Empirical Test. Review of Religious Research, 27(3): 266–244

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cullen J. B., Parboteeah K. P. 2005 Multinational Management: A Strategic Approach (3 Edition). Mason, OH: South-Western Publishing

    Google Scholar 

  • Cullen J. B., Parboteeah K. P., Hoegl M. 2004. Cross-national Differences in Managers’ Willingness to Justify Ethically Suspect Behaviors: A Test of Institutional Anomie Theory. Academy of Management Journal, 47: 411–421

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dalai Lama. 1974. The Opening of the Wisdom Eye. Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House

    Google Scholar 

  • De Jong G. F., Faulkner J. E., Warland R. H. 1976. Dimensions of Religiosity Reconsidered: Evidence from a Cross-Cultural Study. Social Forces, 54(4): 866–889

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dittes J. E. 1969. Psychology of Religion. In: Gardner Lindzey, Elliot Aronson (Eds.) The Handbook of Social Psychology. Reading, Mass: Addison-Wesley

    Google Scholar 

  • Ellison C. G. 1995. Rational Choice Explanations of Individual Religious Behavior: Notes on the Problem of Social Embeddedness. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 34: 89–97

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fararo T. J., Skvoretz J. 1986. Action and Institutions, Network and Function: The Cybernetic Concept of Social Structure. Sociological Forum, 1: 219–250

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Faulkner J. E., De Jong G. F. 1966. Religiosity in 5-D: An Empirical Analysis. Social Forces, 45: 246–254

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Field A. J. 1979. On the Explanation of Rules using Rational Choice Models. Journal of Economic Issues, 13: 49–72

    Google Scholar 

  • Fisher M. P. 2001. Living Religions. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall

    Google Scholar 

  • Harris J. R. 1990. Ethical Values of Individuals at Different Levels in the Organizational Hierarchy of a Single Firm. Journal of Business Ethics, 9: 741–750

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hood R. W., Spilka B., Hunsberger B., Gorsuch R. 1996. The Psychology of Religion: An Empirical Approach. New York: Guildford Press

    Google Scholar 

  • Husted B. W. 2000. The Impact of National Culture on Software Piracy. Journal of Business Ethics, 26: 197–211

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Iannacconne, L. R.: 1998, Introduction to the Economics of Religion, Journal of Economic Literature 36, 1465–1496

    Google Scholar 

  • Kelley J., De Graaf N. D. 1997. National Context, Parental Socialization, and Religious Belief: Results from 15 Nations. American Sociological Review, 62: 639–659

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Khavari K. A., Harmon T. M. 1982. The Relationship between the Degree of Professed Religious Belief and Use of Drugs. International Journal of the Addictions, 17: 847–857

    Google Scholar 

  • Kidwell J. M., Stevens R. E., Bethke A. L. 1987. Differences in the Ethical Perceptions Between Male and Female Managers: Myth or Reality? Journal of Business Ethics, 6: 489–493

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ludwig T. M. 2001. The Sacred Paths. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall

    Google Scholar 

  • Myers S. M. 2000. The Impact of Religious Involvement on Migration. Social Forces, 79(2): 755–783

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Parboteeah K. P., Bronson J. W. Bronson, Cullen J. B. 2005. Does National Culture Affect Willingness to Justify Ethically Suspect Behaviors? A Focus on the GLOBE National Culture Scheme. International Journal of Cross Cultural Management, 5(2): 123–138

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Parboteeah K. P., Cullen J. B., Lim L. 2004. Formal Volunteering: A Cross-National Test. Journal of World Business, 39: 431–442

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rest J. R. 1986. Moral Development: Advances in Research and Theory. New York: Praeger

    Google Scholar 

  • Sadeq A. M. 2002. Waqf, Perpetual Charity and Poverty Alleviation. International Journal of Social Economics, 29: 135–151

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schwartz S. H., Huisman S. 1995. Value Priorities and Religiosity in Four Western Religions. Social Psychology Quarterly, 58(2): 88–107

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Singh J. 1995. Measurement Issues in Cross-National Research. Journal of International Business Studies, 25: 597–619

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smith H. L., Fabricatore A., Peyrot M. 1999. Religiosity and Altruism among African American Males. Journal of Black Studies, 29: 579–597

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smith R. E., Wheeler G., Diener E. 1975. Faith Without Work: Jesus People, Resistance to Temptation, and altruism. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 5: 320–330

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Studenmund A. H. 1992. Using Econometrics: A Practical Guide. New York: Harper Collins

    Google Scholar 

  • Szwajkowski E. 1992. Accounting for Organizational Misconduct. Journal of Business Ethics, 11: 401–411

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tittle C. R., Welch M. R. 1983. Religiosity and Deviance: Toward a Contingency Theory of Constraining Effects. Social Forces, 61(3): 653–682

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Turner J. H. 1997. The Institutional Order. New York: Addison-Wesley Educational Publishers

    Google Scholar 

  • Vitell S. J., Paolillo J. G. P. 2003. Consumer Ethics: The Role of Religiosity. Journal of Business Ethics, 46(2): 151–162

    Google Scholar 

  • Voas D., Olson D. V. A., Crockett A. 2002. Religious Pluralism and Participation: Why Previous Research is Wrong. American Sociological Review, 67: 212–230

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Weaver G. R., Agle B. R. 2002. Religiosity and Ethical Behavior in Organizations: A Symbolic Interactionist Perspective. Academy of Management Review, 27(1): 77–97

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • World Values Study Group. 2000. World Values Surveys and European Values Surveys, 1981–1984 and 1990–1993, 1995–1997 and 1999–2000 (Computer file). Ann Arbor, MI: InterUniversity Consortium for Political and Social Research

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgment

We thank the Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR) for making a significant portion of the date used in this study.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Management, University of Wisconsin - Whitewater, 800 West Main Street, Whitewater, WI, 53190, U.S.A.

    K. Praveen Parboteeah, Martin Hoegl & John B. Cullen

Authors
  1. K. Praveen Parboteeah
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Martin Hoegl
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. John B. Cullen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to K. Praveen Parboteeah.

Additional information

K. Praveen Parboteeah (Ph.D. Washington State University) is an Associate Professor of International Management in the Department of Management, University of Wisconsin - Whitewater. Parboteeah’s research interests include international management, ethics, religion and technology and innovation management. He has published articles in numerous academic journals including Academy of Management Journal, Organization Science, Decision Sciences, Small Group Research, Journal of Business Ethics, Journal of World Business, Management International Review, International Journal of Human Resource Management, R&D Management and Journal of Engineering and Technology Management

Martin Hoegl (Ph.D. University of Karlsruhe, Germany) is Professor at WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management, where he holds the Chair of Leadership and Human Resource Management. Before joining WHU, he served on the faculties of Washington State University and Bocconi University (Milan, Italy). His research interests include leadership and collaboration in organizations, management of R&D personnel, knowledge creation in innovation processes, and the management of geographically dispersed collaboration. He has published in leading international journals, including the Academy of Management Journal, Organization Science, the Journal of Management, Decision Sciences, and others.

John B. Cullen is Professor of Management at Washington State University. He has also served on the faculties of the University of Nebraska, the University of Rhode Island, Waseda and Keio Universities in Japan (as a Fulbright lecturer), and the Catholic University of Lille in France. Professor Cullen is the past president of the Western Academy of Management. Professor Cullen is the author or co-author of four books and over 60 journal articles. His publications have appeared in journals such as Administrative Science Quarterly, Academy of Management Journal, Journal of International Business Studies, Journal of Management, Organizational Studies, Management International Review, Journal of Vocational Behavior, American Journal of Sociology, Organizational Dynamics, and the Journal of World Business. He currently serves on the editorial board of the Journal of Leadership and Organizational Studies and has served on the editorial boards of the Academy of Management Journal and Advances in International Comparative Management Journal.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Parboteeah, K.P., Hoegl, M. & Cullen, J.B. Ethics and Religion: An Empirical Test of a Multidimensional Model. J Bus Ethics 80, 387–398 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-007-9439-8

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-007-9439-8

Keywords

Search

Navigation