Spheres of Influence on Students' Ethical Decision Making

2014

Our study contributes to the literature that explores whether age, gender, and various spheres of influence (religious principles, family values, educational training, workplace environment and peer interactions) affect perceptions of individual ethical behavior. We administered a business ethics survey to undergraduate students at a public undergraduate university in West Virginia. All respondents were asked to agree or disagree with twenty business ethics behavioral vignettes using a 4-point Likert type scale. In addition to these responses, we collected demographic information including gender, age, marital status, and academic major. Respondents were also asked to rank their personal sp…