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The Effect of Country and Culture on Perceptions of Appropriate Ethical Actions Prescribed by Codes of Conduct: A Western European Perspective among Accountants

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  • Donald Arnold
  • Richard Bernardi
  • Presha Neidermeyer
  • Josef Schmee

Abstract

Recognizing the growing interdependence of the European Union and the importance of codes of conduct in companies’ operations, this research examines the effect of a country’s culture on the implementation of a code of conduct in a European context. We examine whether the perceptions of an activity’s ethicality relates to elements found in company codes of conduct vary by country or according to Hofstede’s (1980, Culture’s Consequences (Sage Publications, Beverly Hills, CA)) cultural constructs of: Uncertainty Avoidance, Masculinity/Femininity, Individualism, and Power Distance. The 294 individuals, who participated in our study, were from 8 Western European countries. Their responses to our 13 scenarios indicate that differences in the perceptions of ethicality associate primarily with the participants’ country as opposed to their employer (i.e., accounting firm), employment level, or gender. The evidence also indicates that these country differences associate with Hofstede constructs of Individualism and Masculinity. Copyright Springer 2007

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  • Donald Arnold & Richard Bernardi & Presha Neidermeyer & Josef Schmee, 2007. "The Effect of Country and Culture on Perceptions of Appropriate Ethical Actions Prescribed by Codes of Conduct: A Western European Perspective among Accountants," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 70(4), pages 327-340, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:jbuset:v:70:y:2007:i:4:p:327-340
    DOI: 10.1007/s10551-006-9113-6
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    2. Kevin Y Au, 1999. "Intra-cultural Variation: Evidence and Implications for International Business," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 30(4), pages 799-812, December.
    3. Arnold, Donald Sr. & Bernardi, Richard A. & Neidermeyer, Presha E., 2001. "The association between European materiality estimates and client integrity, national culture, and litigation," The International Journal of Accounting, Elsevier, vol. 36(4), pages 459-483, 012.
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    Cited by:

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    2. Cheteni, Priviledge & Shindika, Emmanuel, 2016. "Ethical Leadership in South Africa and Botswana," MPRA Paper 80968, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 06 Mar 2017.
    3. Yuhyung Shin, 2012. "CEO Ethical Leadership, Ethical Climate, Climate Strength, and Collective Organizational Citizenship Behavior," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 108(3), pages 299-312, July.
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    5. Wioleta Kucharska & Rafał Kowalczyk, 2019. "How to achieve sustainability?—Employee's point of view on company's culture and CSR practice," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 26(2), pages 453-467, March.
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    7. Chris Bell & Justin Hughes-Jones, 2008. "Power, Self-regulation and the Moralization of Behavior," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 83(3), pages 503-514, December.
    8. Maira Babri & Bruce Davidson & Sven Helin, 2021. "An Updated Inquiry into the Study of Corporate Codes of Ethics: 2005–2016," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 168(1), pages 71-108, January.
    9. Itsaso Barrainkua & Marcela Espinosa-Pike, 2015. "Cultural and Socio-Economic Restrictions for the Adoption of the IESBA Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants in the European Countries," European Research Studies Journal, European Research Studies Journal, vol. 0(1), pages 3-24.
    10. Till Talaulicar, 2009. "Barriers Against Globalizing Corporate Ethics: An Analysis of Legal Disputes on Implementing U.S. Codes of Ethics in Germany," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 84(3), pages 349-360, February.
    11. Hongqing He & Yameng Zhang & Yaqi Ding, 2022. "When Does CSR Fail to Incentive Employees’ Affective Organizational Commitment? Exploring the Moderating Effects Based on the C-S-R Concerns Model," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(13), pages 1-20, July.
    12. Min-Jik Kim & Byung-Jik Kim, 2020. "Analysis of the Importance of Job Insecurity, Psychological Safety and Job Satisfaction in the CSR-Performance Link," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(9), pages 1-16, April.
    13. Ziad Swaidan, 2012. "Culture and Consumer Ethics," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 108(2), pages 201-213, June.
    14. Peter Norberg, 2009. "“I don’t Care that People don’t Like What I Do” – Business Codes Viewed as Invisible or Visible Restrictions," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 86(2), pages 211-225, May.
    15. Yun-Seok Hwang & Byung-Jik Kim, 2021. "“The Power of a Firm’s Benevolent Act”: The Influence of Work Overload on Turnover Intention, the Mediating Role of Meaningfulness of Work and the Moderating Effect of CSR Activities," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(7), pages 1-15, April.
    16. Sara Bice, 2017. "Corporate Social Responsibility as Institution: A Social Mechanisms Framework," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 143(1), pages 17-34, June.
    17. Byung-Jik Kim & Se-Youn Jung & Jeyong Jung, 2022. "“Does a Good Firm Diminish the Bad Behavior of Its Employees?”: The Sequential Mediation Effect of Organizational Trust and Organizational Commitment, and the Moderation Effect of Work Overload," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(11), pages 1-19, May.
    18. Raymond O. S. Zaal & Ronald J. M. Jeurissen & Edward A. G. Groenland, 2019. "Organizational Architecture, Ethical Culture, and Perceived Unethical Behavior Towards Customers: Evidence from Wholesale Banking," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 158(3), pages 825-848, September.
    19. Peipei Pan & Chris Patel, 2024. "Do Internal Auditors Make Consistent Ethical Judgments in English and Chinese in Reporting Wrongdoing?," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 194(2), pages 433-453, October.
    20. Begoña Giner & Francisca Pardo, 2015. "How Ethical are Managers’ Goodwill Impairment Decisions in Spanish-Listed Firms?," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 132(1), pages 21-40, November.
    21. Miska, Christof & Szőcs, Ilona & Schiffinger, Michael, 2018. "Culture’s effects on corporate sustainability practices: A multi-domain and multi-level view," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 53(2), pages 263-279.
    22. Charles Koerber, 2009. "Corporate Responsibility Standards: Current Implications and Future Possibilities for Peace Through Commerce," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 89(4), pages 461-480, March.
    23. Yongmei Liu & Sixuan Chen & Chris Bell & Justin Tan, 2020. "How Do Power and Status Differ in Predicting Unethical Decisions? A Cross-National Comparison of China and Canada," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 167(4), pages 745-760, December.
    24. Byung-Jik Kim & Mohammad Nurunnabi & Tae-Hyun Kim & Taejoong Kim, 2018. "Doing Good Is Not Enough, You Should Have Been Authentic: Organizational Identification, Authentic Leadership and CSR," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(6), pages 1-16, June.

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