No abstract

This two country study examines the effect of corporate ethical values and enforcement of a code of ethics on perceptions of the role of ethics in the overall success of the firm. Additionally, the impact of organizational commitment and of individual variables such as ethical idealism and relativism was examined. The rationale for examining the perceived importance of the role of ethics in this manner is to determine the extent to which the organization itself can influence employee perceptions regarding ethics and social responsibility. Results indicate that all of the variables tested, except relativism, impacted upon one's perceptions of the importance of ethics and social responsibility. Perceptions of the importance of ethics and social responsibility also varied depending upon country of residence with the U.S. sample having somewhat higher perceptions concerning the importance of ethics and social responsibility than their counterparts in Spain. Furthermore, when comparing the two samples, the U.S. sample had significantly higher corporate ethical values, greater enforcement of ethical codes, less organizational commitment and both lower idealism and relativism.

No abstract

A multinational study of marketing professionals was conducted in the US, England, Spain and Turkey. Respondents from these countries were compared on various ethics‐related constructs such as idealism, relativism, moral intensity and corporate ethical values. Analyses of variance indicated that moral intensity had a signi ?cant impact on both ethical judgments and behavioral intentions. However, corporate ethical values, an idealistic ethical perspective and a relativistic ethical perspective only partially impacted ethical judgments and intentions. Country differences showed that the US was highest in terms of corporate ethical values while being the lowest in terms of relativism and signi?cantly lower than Spain and Turkey in terms of idealism. Turkey was the highest in terms of both idealism and relativism yet lowest in terms of corporate ethical values. Country differences in terms of moral intensity tended to be situation‐speci?c. One managerial implication, for ?rms in all four countries, is that a clear set of corporate policies concerning ethics can positively in?uence the behavioral intentions of employees. It is important that employees do not misinterpret the desires of top management where ethical issues are involved.

Purpose The purpose of this study is to examine the mediating role of moral identity on the relations between the independent variable of spirituality and the original consumer ethics scale (OCES) and attitudes towards doing good and recycling practices of the consumer. Design/methodology/approach To test the various hypotheses of the model, the methodology used is that of partial least squares (PLS) path-modelling, which is a variance-based structural equation modelling (SEM). Findings This research reveals a full mediation of the construct of moral identity in the relationship between spirituality and doing good/recycling practices, and the rejection of those who do not perform these practices that are responsible from the point of view of sustainability. In addition, the existence is shown of a partial mediation of the construct of moral identity in the relationship between spirituality and consumer ethics scale (CES). Practical implications It is demonstrated that the main effect on the attitude of consumers towards the consumption of products and services of companies whose behaviour is responsible towards sustainability is mainly motivated by having a high standard of ethical and moral values and such strong beliefs, such as those of honesty, kindness, generosity and compassion. The main implication of this investigation is that the authors’ results suggest that the identification of these types of consumers would constitute an effective marketing strategy and an important variable of segmentation. Originality value This research is unique in two ways. First, this study proposes a model that provides a solution to the research problems caused by the incorporation of a fifth dimension into the OCES. Second, this paper is the first to investigate the role played by the moral identity as a mediator between the relationship of spirituality and attitudes towards unethical behaviour and doing good/recycling practices.