Business ethics index: the impact of political affiliation

Purpose - The purpose of this study is to measure differences on the business ethics index (BEI) between respondents of different political affiliations (i.e. democrats, republicans and independents). The BEI was originally developed as an indicator of consumers’ sentiments toward the ethicality of business practices. Design/methodology/approach - Data collection was conducted by ORC International Telephone CARAVAN®. The study was conducted using two probability samples of 1,008 adults (18 years old and older) living in the continental United States. Findings - The data demonstrate that republicans feel more positive on all three components (i.e. personal/past, vicarious/past, and future) and on the overall BEI compared to democrats and independents. Research limitations/implications - The limitations of the study include that the data include political affiliation and not actual voting behavior. One can assume there is a high correlation between the two; however, many US voters do not actually take the time to vote might attenuate this relationship. A future application of the BEI will attempt to capture real voting patterns and not only political affiliation. Practical implications - The data confirm the political and ideological schism evident in the US at the present time. At a time where almost all the centers of political power (Presidency, Senate and Parliament) are being controlled by the GOP, republican voters are more optimistic about the future ethical behavior of businesses. Social implications - Beyond political ideology, ethical behavior by business is crucial to the integrity of the economic system both at the national and international level. Originality/value - This is the first time that consumers’ ethical perceptions, as measured by the BEI, were associated with people’s political affiliations.