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Income, Money Ethic, Pay Satisfaction, Commitment, and Unethical Behavior: Is the Love of Money the Root of Evil for Hong Kong Employees?

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Abstract

This study examines a model involving income, the love of money, pay satisfaction, organizational commitment, job changes, and unethical behavior among 211 full-time employees in Hong Kong, China. Direct paths suggested that the love of money was related to unethical behavior, but income (money) was not. Indirect paths showed that income was negatively related to the love of money that, in turn, was negatively related to pay satisfaction that, in turn, was negatively associated with unethical behavior. Pay satisfaction was positively related to organizational commitment. Thus, the love of money is the root of evil, but money is not.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Management and Marketing, Jennings A. Jones College of Business, Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro, TN, 37132, U.S.A.

    Thomas Li-Ping Tang

  2. Department of Management, School of Business, Hong Kong Baptist University, Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong, PRC

    Randy K. Chiu

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Tang, T.LP., Chiu, R.K. Income, Money Ethic, Pay Satisfaction, Commitment, and Unethical Behavior: Is the Love of Money the Root of Evil for Hong Kong Employees?. Journal of Business Ethics 46, 13–30 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1024731611490

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