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Spanish and American Executives' Ethical Judgments and Intentions

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Abstract

This study explores differences between executives in the U.S. and Spain in their perceptions of ethical issues in pricing, specifically comparing a domestic firm's actions affecting a foreign market versus a foreign firm's actions affecting the domestic market. Overall, Spanish and American executives provided somewhat different responses to the scenarios. Findings indicate that ethical judgments and intentions among Spanish executives did not vary based on which country was harmed. U.S. executives generally perceived that a morally questionable act directed at a foreign country was more unethical than a morally questionable act directed at the United States. Possible explanations for these findings are suggested.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Management and Marketing, College of Business, University of Wyoming, P.O. Box 3275, Laramie, WY, 82071, U.S.A.

    Terri L. Rittenburg & Sean R. Valentine

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  1. Terri L. Rittenburg
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  2. Sean R. Valentine
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Rittenburg, T.L., Valentine, S.R. Spanish and American Executives' Ethical Judgments and Intentions. Journal of Business Ethics 38, 291–306 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1016013326063

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