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Gender Differences in Double Standards

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  • I. VERMEIR
  • P. VAN KENHOVE

Abstract

The purpose of the present study is to investigate gender differences in the use of double standards in ethical judgements of questionable conduct instigated by business or consumers. We investigate if consumers are more critical towards unethical corporate versus consumer actions and if these double standards depend on the gender of the respondent. In the first study, we compared evaluations of four specific unethical actions (cfr. DePaulo, 1987) instigated by either the consumer or the corporation. In a second study, we investigated the perception of some general consumer and corporate (un)ethical actions in addition to DePaulo’s unethical scenarios. Both researches show that females use less double standards when it comes to their own (un)ethical behaviour compared to corporate (un)ethical actions. Furthermore, gender differences in the use of double standards depend on the type of unethical behaviour. Limitations and suggestions for further research are discussed.

Suggested Citation

  • I. Vermeir & P. Van Kenhove, 2007. "Gender Differences in Double Standards," Working Papers of Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Ghent University, Belgium 07/467, Ghent University, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration.
    • Handle: RePEc:rug:rugwps:07/467
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Consumer ethics; double standards; gender; ethical evaluations; ethical beliefs;
    All these keywords.

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