International Journal of Business Ethics in Developing Economies

Open Access Open Access  Restricted Access Subscription Access
Open Access Open Access Open Access  Restricted Access Restricted Access Subscription Access

Business Decisions and Attitudes towards Business Ethics of Traders in Nepal


Affiliations
1 Assistant Professor, Tribhuvan University, Nepal
     

   Subscribe/Renew Journal


The paper intends to examine the effects of attitudes towards business ethics of traders in their business decisions. Primary data were collected through a questionnaire, with 108 sole-trading retail businesses from Biratnagar city, Nepal, purposively. The results show that attitudes towards business ethics significantly affect traders’ business decisions. As the attitudes towards business ethics incline to positivity, the ethicality of business decisions hikes up. Similarly, traders’ socio-demographic characteristics (gender, academic qualifications, and their years in business) have a monumental impact on their business decisions. Women traders are comparatively more ethical than their counterparts. Higher education of traders is associated with progressive ethical practices in business. As the traders grow older in their venture, their ethicality in business operations is likely to expand. The study concludes that traders believe in running their business ethically, because ethical dealings in business activities lead to long-term benefits in terms of subsistence and success.

Keywords

Business Decisions, Attitudes towards Business Ethics, Business Ethics, Traders
Subscription Login to verify subscription
User
Notifications
Font Size


  • Altinay, L., Bunyan, C., & Pawlik, D. (2017). Towards an understanding of women’s arts entrepreneurship in the Terai region of Nepal. Kathmandu: British Council.Retrieved from https://www.britishcouncil.org.np/sites/ default/files/womens_arts_entrepreneurship_teraisingle_ page.pdf

  • Alzola, M. (2015). Virtuous persons and virtuous actions in business ethics and organizational research. Business Ethics Quarterly, 25(3), 287-318. Retrieved from https:// doi.org/10.1017/beq.2015.24

  • Amakobe, D. F. (2017). Business ethics. MBA African Leadership Institute Wilmington Delaware. (October 2016). Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/ publication/308926602_Business_Ethics

  • Annas, J. (2003). Virtue ethics and social psychology. A Priori, 2, 20-33. Retrieved from https://www.scribd.com/document/321113823/ Annas-Virtue-Ethics-and-Social-Psychology

  • Antoniuk, L., Britchenko, I., Polishchuk, Y., Rudyk, N., Sybirianska, Y., & Machashchik, P. (2018). Code of ethics for SMEs: Substantiating the necessity and willingness to implement in Ukraine. Problems and Perspectives in Management, 16(3), 150-162. doi:10.21511/ ppm.16(3).2018.12

  • Asif, T., Guangming, O., Haider, M. A., Colomer, J., Kayani, S., & ul Amin, N. (2020). Moral education for sustainable development: Comparison of university teachers’ perceptions in China and Pakistan. Sustainability (Switzerland), 12(7). doi:https://doi.org/10.3390/ su12073014

  • Bageac, D., Furrer, O., & Reynaud, E. (2011). Management students’ attitudes toward business ethics: A comparison between France and Romania. Journal of Business Ethics, 98(3), 391-406. doi:https://doi.org/10.1007/ s10551-010-0555-5

  • Bhal, K. T., & Sharma, P. (2001). Managerial ethical behavior: Results of a comparative study. Vikalpa, 26(4), 51-58. doi:https://doi.org/10.1177/0256090920010405

  • Borkowski, S., & Ugras, Y. (1998). Business students and ethics: A meta-analysis. Journal of Business Ethics, 17(11), 1117-1127. doi:https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1005748725174

  • Bucar, B., Glas, M., & Hisrich, R. D. (2003). Ethics and entrepreneurs: An international comparative study Journal of Business Venturing, 18(2), 261-281. doi:https:// doi.org/10.1016/S0883-9026(01)00083-0

  • Cagle, J. A., & Baucus, M. S. (2006). Case studies of ethics scandals: Effects on ethical perceptions of finance students. Journal of Business Ethics, 64(3), 213-229.doi:https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-005-8503-5

  • Choi, D. L., & Perry, J. L. (2010). Developing a tool to measure ethical sensitivity in public administration and its application. International Review of Public Administration, 14(3), 1-12. doi:https://doi.org/10.1080/ 12294659.2010.10805157 Decker, W. H. (1994). Unethical decisions and attributions: Gains, losses, and concentration of effects. Psychological Reports, 75, 1207-1214.

  • Dickel, P., & Graeff, P. (2018). Entrepreneurs’ propensity for corruption: A vignette-based factorial survey. Journal of Business Research, 89 (March), 77-86. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2018.03.036

  • Elias, R. Z. (2004). An examination of business students’ perception of corporate social responsibilities before and after bankruptcies. Journal of Business Ethics, 52(3), 267-281. doi:https://doi.org/10.1023/ B:BUSI.0000037558.74693.d5

  • Espinosa-Pike, M., Aldazabal, E., & Martín-Arroyuelos, A. (2012). Influence of gender and ethical training on university teachers’ sensitivity towards the integration of ethics in business studies. Journal of Academic Ethics, 10(1), 9-25. doi:10.1007/s10805-012-9151-x

  • Eweje, G., & Brunton, M. (2010). Ethical perceptions of business students in a New Zealand university: Do gender, age and work experience matter? Business Ethics: A European Review, 19(1), 95-111. doi:https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8608.2009.01581.x

  • Field, A. (2005). Discovering statistics using SPSS. (2nd ed.). Sage Publication: London.

  • Forte, A. (2004). Business ethics: A study of the moral reasoning of selected business managers and the influence of organizational ethical climate. Journal of Business Ethics, 51(2), 167-173. doi:https://doi.org/10.1023/ B:BUSI.0000033610.35181.ef

  • Gloss, A., Pollack, J. M., & Ward, M. K. (2017). A risky shift? An exploration of the measurement equivalence of entrepreneurial attitudes and entrepreneurial orientation across socioeconomic gradients. Journal of Business Venturing Insights, 7 (January), 32-37. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbvi.2017.01.003

  • Hellriegel, D., Jackson, S. E., Slocum, J., Staude, G., Amos, T., Klopper, H. B., Louw L., & Oosthuizen T. (2008).Management 3rd South African Edition. Cape Town: Oxford University Press.

  • Hoskinson, S. & Kuratko, D. (2015). The challenges of ethics and entrepreneurship in the global environment.Emerald Publishing Group.

  • Jamnik, A. (2011). The challenge of business ethicsmanagement and the question of ethics. Tourism and Hospitality Management, 17(1), 141-152.Retrieved from https://ideas.repec.org/a/tho/journl/ v17y2011n1p141-152.html

  • Jonson, E. P., McGuire, L., & Cooper, B. K. (2016).Does teaching ethics do any good? Education and Training, 58(4), 439-454. doi:https://doi.org/10.1108/ ET-11-2015-0110

  • Kantor, P. (2002). Female mobility in India the influence of seclusion norms on economics outcomes. International Development Planning Review, 24(2), 145-159.

  • Keller-krawczyk, L., & Douro, A. (2010). Is business ethics possible and necessary? Economics & Sociology, 3(1), 133–142. doi:10.14254/2071-789X.2010/3-1/13

  • Koch, C. (2010). An ethical justification of profit maximization. doi:https://doi.org/10.1108/174656810110 79491

  • Lašáková, A., & Remišová, A. (2019). The relationship between demographic factors and managers’ perception of unethical tone at the top. Journal of Management Development, 38(1), 25-45. doi:https://doi.org/10.1108/ JMD-07-2018-0213

  • Longenecker, J. G., Moore, C. W., Petty, J. W., Palich, L.E., & Mckinney, J. A. (2006). Ethical attitudes in small businesses and large corporations: Theory and empirical findings from a tracking study spanning three decades.

  • Miller, K. (2014). Non-parametric statistics for social and behavioural sciences. CRC Press: Boca Raton.

  • Moore, R. S., & Radloff, S. E. (1996). Attitudes towards business ethics held by South African students. Journal of Business Ethics, 15(8), 863-869. doi:https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00381854

  • Oliveira, A. (2007). A discussion of rational and psychological decision-making theories and models: The search for a cultural-ethical decision-making model. Electronic journal of business ethics and organization studies, 12(2), 12-17. http://ejbo.jyu.fi/pdf/ejbo_vol12_ no2_pages_12-17.pdf

  • Oluoch, P., Amollo Odundo, P., Mwangi, J., & Richard Oyier, C. (2018). Types of vignettes and ethical decision-making among business education students. International Journal of Business and Management, 13(10), 249. doi:https:// doi.org/10.5539/ijbm.v13n10p249

  • Pennino, C. M. (2002). Is decision style related to moral development among managers in the US? Journal of Business Ethics, 41(4), 337-347. doi:https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1021282816140

  • Peppas, S. (2002). Attitudes towards business ethics: Where east doesn’t meet west. Cross Cultural Management: An International Journal, 9(4), 42-59. Retrieved from https:// doi.org/10.1108/13527600210797488

  • Peppas, S. C. (2003). Attitudes toward codes of ethics: The effects of corporate misconduct. Management Research News, 26(6), 77-89. doi:https://doi.org/10.1108/01409170310783547

  • Pham, L. N. T., Nguyen, L. D., & Favia, M. J. (2015).Business students’ attitudes toward business ethics: An empirical investigation in Vietnam. Journal of Asia Business Studies, 9(3), 289-305. https://doi.org/10.1108/ JABS-01-2015-0012

  • Pierce, B., & Sweeney, B. (2010). The relationship between demographic variables and ethical decision making of trainee accountants. International Journal of Auditing, 14(1), 79-99. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1007/ s10551-009-0237-3

  • Pimentel, J. R. C., Kuntz, J. R., & Elenkov, D. S. (2010).Ethical decision-making: An integrative model for business practice. European Business Review, 22(4), 359376. doi:https://doi.org/10.1108/09555341011056159

  • Preble, J., & Reichel, A. (1988). Attitudes towards business ethics of future managers in the U.S. and Israel. Journal of Business Ethics, 7(12), 941-949. Retrieved October 14, 2020, from http://www.jstor.org/stable/25071857

  • Raguz, I. V., & Matic, M. (2015). Special section on business ethics. Journal of Contemporary Management Issues, 21, 189-205. Retrieved from https://moj.efst.hr/management/ Vol21-Specissue/9_Ethics_Vrdoljak%20Raguz%20 Matic.pdf

  • Riddle, L., & Ayyagari, M. (2011). Contemporary cleopatras: The business ethics of female Egyptian managers. Education, Business and Society: Contemporary Middle Eastern Issues, 4(3), 167-192. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1108/17537981111159957

  • Rizvi, S., Tanveer, M. A., Saleem, U., & Latif, M. (2012).Business students’ attitude toward business ethics in Pakistan. European Scientific Journal, 8(25), 178-188.

  • Shionoya, Y. (1995). The ethics of competition. European Journal of Law and Economics, 2(1), 5-19. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01540821

  • Siebold, N., Raith, M. G., & Dohrmann, S. (2014). Monetizing social value – A business model approach. In ICSB World Conference Proceedings (p. 1). International Council for Small Business (ICSB). Retrieved from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bpj/erjour/v5y2015i2p127-154n1.html

  • Sims, R. L., & Gegez, A. E. (2004). Attitudes towards business ethics: A five nation comparative study, 253-265.doi:10.1023/B:BUSI.0000024708.07201.2D

  • Smit, P. J., Cronje, G. J., Brevis, T., & Vrba, M. J. (2007).Management principle: A contemporary edition for Africa. Cape Town: Juta & Co Ltd.

  • Spence, L. J., & Rutherfoord, R. (2003). Small business and empirical perspectives in business ethics. Journal of Business Ethics, 47(1), 1-5. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1026205109290

  • Sroka, W. & Lorinczy, M. (2015). The perception of ethics in business: Analysis of research results. Procedia Economics and Finance. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1016/S2212-5671(15)01614-7

  • Svensson, G., & Wood, G. (2008). A model of business ethics.Journal of Business Ethics, 77(3), 303-322. doi:10.1007/ sl0551-007-9351-2

  • Sweeney, B., Arnold, D., & Pierce, B. (2010). The impact of perceived ethical culture of the firm and demographic variables on auditors’ ethical evaluation and intention to act decisions. Journal of Business Ethics, 93(4), 531-551.doi:https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-009-0237-3

  • Taylor, A. (2013). Ethics training for accountants: Does it add up? Meditari Accountancy Research. doi:10.1108/ MEDAR-06-2012-0020

  • Thi, D., & Yen, H. (2016). Business ethics.(December). Retrieved from https://www.theseus. fi/bitstream/handle/10024/120466/Duong%20 Thi%20Hoang%20Yen%20-%20Final%20thesis.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y

  • Thoburn, J. W., Bentley, J. A., Ahmad, Z. S., & Jones,K. C. (2012). International disaster psychology ethics: A social justice model imbedded in a systemsparadigm. Traumatology, 18(4), 79-85. https://doi. org/10.1177/1534765612444880

  • Trang, P. Q. (2015). The role of ethics in business operations. Retrieved from https://www.theseus.fi/handle/10024/112545

  • USAID. (2009). Report on identification of popular vocations for women in Dang District. Kathmandu: EIG Program.

  • Valentine, S., & Godkin, L. (2019). Moral intensity, ethical decision making, and whistleblowing intention. Journal of Business Research, 98(January), 277-288. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2019.01.009

  • Valentine, S. R., & Rittenburg, T. L. (2007). The ethical decision making of men and women executives in international business situations. Journal of Business Ethics, 71(2), 125-134. doi:https://doi.org/10.1007/ s10551-006-9129-y

  • Vallaster, C., Kraus, S., Merigó Lindahl, J. M., & Nielsen, A. (2019). Ethics and entrepreneurship: A bibliometric study and literature review. Journal of Business Research, 99(February), 226-237. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j. jbusres.2019.02.050

  • Velasquez, K., Chen, C., Cullen, J., & Chang, Y. (2016). Does gender influence managers’ ethics? Business Ethics a Eurpoean Review. doi:https://doi.org/10.1111/beer.12122

  • Velentzas, J., & Broni, G. (2010). Ethical dimensions in the conduct of business: Business ethics, corporate social responsibility and the law. The “ethics in business” as a sense of business ethics introduction,

  • -820. Retrieved from http://oagflibrary.com.ng/ bitstream/123456789/234/1/092.pdf

  • Vickers, M. R. (2005). Business ethics and the HR role: Past, present, and future. Human Resource Planning, 28(1). Retrieved from https://go.gale.com/ps/anonymous?id=G ALE%7CA131500182&sid=googleScholar&v=2.1&it=r &linkaccess=abs&issn=01998986&p=AONE&sw=w

  • Victoria, A. (2018). Business ethics. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/328789

  • _Business_Ethics

  • Volkmann, C. K., & Tokarski, K. O. (2009). Student attitudes to entrepreneurship. Management & Marketing,

  • (1). Retrieved from https://econpapers.repec.org/article/ ephjournl/v_3a4_3ay_3a2009_3ai_3a1_3an_3a2.htm

  • Wahn, J. (2003). Sex differences in competitive and compliant unethical work behaviour. Journal of Business and Psychology, 18(1), 121-128. Retrieved from https:// doi.org/10.1023/A:1025039105839


Abstract Views: 212

PDF Views: 0




  • Business Decisions and Attitudes towards Business Ethics of Traders in Nepal

Abstract Views: 212  |  PDF Views: 0

Authors

Bandana Kumari Jain
Assistant Professor, Tribhuvan University, Nepal

Abstract


The paper intends to examine the effects of attitudes towards business ethics of traders in their business decisions. Primary data were collected through a questionnaire, with 108 sole-trading retail businesses from Biratnagar city, Nepal, purposively. The results show that attitudes towards business ethics significantly affect traders’ business decisions. As the attitudes towards business ethics incline to positivity, the ethicality of business decisions hikes up. Similarly, traders’ socio-demographic characteristics (gender, academic qualifications, and their years in business) have a monumental impact on their business decisions. Women traders are comparatively more ethical than their counterparts. Higher education of traders is associated with progressive ethical practices in business. As the traders grow older in their venture, their ethicality in business operations is likely to expand. The study concludes that traders believe in running their business ethically, because ethical dealings in business activities lead to long-term benefits in terms of subsistence and success.

Keywords


Business Decisions, Attitudes towards Business Ethics, Business Ethics, Traders

References