The Impact of Ethical Ideologies, Moral Intensity, and Social Context on Sales-Based Ethical

Reasoning
Author(s): Sean R. Valentine and Connie R. Bateman
Source: Journal of Business Ethics, Vol. 102, No. 1, Symposium: Ethical Corporate Marketing (
August 2011), pp. 155-168
Published by: Springer
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/41476006
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Journalof BusinessEthics (2011) 102:155-168 © Springer2011
DOI 10.1007/sl0551-011-0807-z

The Impact of Ethical Ideologies, Moral

Intensity, and Social Context

Sean R. Valentine
on Sales-Based Ethical Reasoning Connie R. Bateman

ABSTRACT. Previousresearchindicatesthat ethical ethicalissue recognition, and relativism was associated

ideologies,issue-contingencies, and social contextcan
impact ethical reasoning in different
businesssituations.
However, the manner in which these constructswork
to
together shape differentstepsof the ethicaldecision-
makingprocessis not alwaysclear.The purposeof this
studywas to addresstheseissuesby exploring theinflu-
enceofidealismandrelativism, perceivedmoralintensity
in a decision-making andsocialcontexton the
situation,
recognitionof an ethicalissue and ethicalintention.
Utilizinga sales-basedscenarioand multipleethicsmea-
suresincludedon a self-report questionnaire,datawere
collectedfroma regionalsampleof businessstudents,
mostofwhomhadmodestworkexperience. The results
indicatedthatperceivedmoralintensity was associated
with increasedethical issue recognitionand ethical
intention.Idealismwas also associatedwith increased
with decreasedethicalintention.Social consensuswas
positivelyrelatedto ethicalissuerecognition and inten-
tion,while competitive contextwas inversely relatedto
ethicalintention.Finally,ethicalissue recognition was
associatedwith increasedethical intention.Idealism,
moralintensity, social consensus,and work experience
workedtogether as predictorsofethicalissuerecognition,
whereasrecognition ofan ethicalissue,relativism,
moral
intensity,social consensus,and competitivecontext
workedtogether to predictethicalintention.
KEY WORDS: ethicalideologies,moralintensity,
social
context,ethicalreasoning
Introduction

When considering the many ethical dilemmas

ScanR. Valentine(D.B.A., LouisianaTechUniversity)is the
UND Alumni andEthics andProfessor employees face while performingtheirdaily func-
Leadership Professor tionsin organizations,the challengesassociatedwith
ofManagement in theCollegeofBusiness andPublicAd-
at theUniversity
ministration ofNorth Dakota.His research makingthe correctdecisionsand behavingproperly
andteachinginterests
include
business human resource become easily apparent. Indeed, businesspersons
ethics,
management, andorganizationalculture.
His workhasap- oftennegotiatea complex arrayof ethicalproblems
pearedinjournalssuchas Human ResourceManage- on the job, sometimeswith little or no assistance
ment,HumanRelations, JournalofPersonalSelling& frommanagers,coworkers,and otherkey members
SalesManagement, Journalof BusinessResearch,and of the organization.Making mattersworse, leaders
BehavioralResearchin Accounting. might have only a cursoryunderstandingof the
ConnieR. Bateman (D.B.A., Southern is
IllinoisUniversity) differentfactors that influence ethical decision
AssociateProfessorof Marketing in the Department of making,and so attemptsby the firmto develop a
Marketing,CollegeofBusinessandPublic Administrationat work environmentthatencouragesethicsare some-
theUniversityofNorthDakota.Herteaching in-
interests
times minimalor nonexistent.Unethical reasoning
market
cludestrategic planning,and herresearch interests
and conduct exhibited by employees are there-
include
businessandconsumer Herwork
ethics. hasappeared
fore common byproductsof such unawarenessand
suchajournai ofBusinessResearch,
injournals Journal
ofBusinessEthics,International ofCommerce inaction.
Journal
Ethical reasoningin the businessenvironmentis
and Management, Academyof MarketingSciences
Journal,Journalof Legal, Ethical and Regulatory conceptualizedas an individual'scognitivereactions
Issues,andBusinessHorizons. to circumstancesthat contain a noteworthyethical

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156 Sean R. Valentine
and ConnieR. Bateman
component(Jones,1991; Rest, 1986). The firststep
of ethicalreasoningis based on the recognitionor
identification of an ethicalissue thatis embedded in
an experiencedchallenge (Hunt and Vitell, 1986;
Jones,1991; Rest, 1986). The next step involvesa
processof evaluatingthe situationbased on different
moral frameworks, which leads to an ethicaljudg-
ment (Hunt and Vitell, 1986; Reidenbach and
Robin, 1988, 1990). Once an ethicaljudgment is
established, thisreasoningleads to theformulation of
ethicalbehavioralintentions(Hunt and Vitell,1986;
Rest, 1986). Finally,behavior is often exhibited,
which supportsor reinforcesthe previouslyestab-
lished steps (Jones, 1991; Rest, 1986). Previous
studiesshow that these steps are positivelyrelated
(Barnett and Valentine, 2004; Fleischman et al.,
2007; Singhapakdiet al., 1996, 1999, 2000; Valen-
tine and Barnett,2007; Valentineet al., 2010), and
thatthe variousstagesare influencedby a varietyof
factorsfound within individuals, situations,and
organizational contexts(Ford and Richardson,1994;
Loe et al., 2000; O'Fallon and Butterfield, 2005).
Despite this wealth of information,more com-
prehensive research is needed to investigatethe
working togetherof individual,issue-related,and
contextualinfluenceson theethicalreasoningprocess
Figure1. Hypothesized
relationships.
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(Kish-Gephartet al., 2010). For instance,much
researchexamineshow variablesoperatingat one or
two levels of influenceindependentlyaffectethical
decisionmaking(e.g., Bakeret al., 2006; Barnettand
Vaicys,2000; Bass et al., 1998; McCabe et al., 1996;
Treviño and Youngblood 1990; Valentineand Bar-
nett,2007), but few studiesinvestigate the degreeto
whichall thethreelevelsmightsimultaneously impact
the process (e.g., Douglas et al, 2001; Paolillo and
Vitell,2002; Singhapakdiet al., 1999). Such a studyis
particularlyrelevant in the sales context because
employeesin thisoccupationexperiencea multitude
of ethical situations (McClaren, 2000), making
comprehensiveinvestigations of the antecedentsof
ethicalreasoningcriticalforthe formulation of pre-
scriptiveguidanceforsalesethics.
Consequently,the purpose of this studywas to
explorethe varyingrolesof ethicalideologies,moral
intensity,and social contextin the ethicalreasoning
foundin a salessituation(see Figure1). The exami-
nation of these particularvariables is important
because ethical ideologies prominentlyinfluence
ethicaldecisionsat the individuallevel of influence
(e.g., Barnettet al., 1996, 1998; Vitell et al., 1993),
while moral intensitypresentsa set of issue-contin-
genciesthatimpactethicalreasoningat thesituational
level (e.g., Barnett,2001; Barnettand Valentine,
2004). Finally,social contextshouldimpactethicsat
the organizationallevel because an ethicalenviron-
mentprovidesemployeesclues about what particu-
lar behaviorsare expected in the workplace (e.g.,
Butterfieldet al., 2000; Valentine and Barnett,
2007).
Ethicalideologies
and ethicalreasoning
Moral frameworksthat individualsuse to evaluate
ethical situationsare known to impact ethicalrea-
soning. These "ethical ideologies" are part of an
integratedconceptualsystemof personalethicsthat
act as guidelines differentiallyapplied to ethical
problems (e.g., Forsyth,1980; Ferrellet al., 1989;
Hunt and Vitell 1986; Vitell et al., 1993), and
"idealism" and "relativism"are the primaryethical
ideologies (Forsyth,1980). Idealism refersto the
manner in which a person believes that hurting
othersis wrong, with an emphasison the maximi-
zation of benefitsto otherparties(Forsyth,1980). A
 The ImpactofEthicalIdeologies
, MoralIntensity,
highlyidealisticperson "feelsthatharmingothersis
alwaysavoidable,and theywould rathernot choose
between the lesserof two evils which will lead to
negativeconsequences for other people" (Forsyth,
1992, p. 462). A less idealisticperson assumesthat
"harm will sometimesbe necessaryto produce the
greatestgood for the greatestnumber" (Forsyth,
1992, p. 462). Alternatively,relativisminvolvesthe
disregardof universalnotions of moralityin favoror
more flexibleconceptionsof rightand wrongbased
on context(Treise et al., 1994). A highlyrelativistic
person, "feels that moral actions depend upon the
natureof the situationand the individualsinvolved,
and when judging otherstheyweight the circum-
stances more than the ethical principle that was
violated" (Forsyth,1992, p. 462). A less relativistic
personfavorsthedictatesoutlinedby universalmoral
guidelines(Forsyth,1992).
Research demonstratesthatidealismand relativ-
ism are importantcomponentsof a businessperson's
ethicalframework, and in many cases, the two fac-
torsare found to be moderatepredictorsof ethical
judgment and behavior; however, the extent of
influencewill varywith the situation(Barnettet al.,
1998; Davis et al., 2001; Hunt and Vitell, 1986;
Singhapakdiet al., 1995). Indeed, idealism might
representa strongerethicalorientationthanrelativ-
ism because of itsfocuson moralabsolutes(Meising
and Preble, 1985), but the complexitiesinherentin
certainbusinesssituationsmay change the natureof
the afore-mentionedrelationships(Roberts, 1986).
Previous study shows that individualswho score
high in idealismare more likelyto identifyethical
problems (Bowes-Sperry and Powell, 1999) and
perceivegreatermoral intensity(Singhapakdiet al.,
1999) thando individualswho scorelow in idealism,
and highlyidealisticpeople are also less likely to
engage in actionsthatare consideredto be deviant
(Henle et al., 2005). Conversely,Vitell et al. (1993,
p. 336) also found"thatindividualswho were more
tendedto exhibithigher
idealisticand lessrelativistic
honesty and integritythan individualswho were less
idealisticand morerelativistic."Finally,Barnettet al.
(1996) obtained resultsindicatingthatidealismwas
positivelyrelatedto ethicaljudgment,relativismwas
negativelyrelatedto ethicaljudgment, and ethical
judgment was positivelyrelated to ethical intent.
Consequently,the following hypothesesare pre-
sented:
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and Social Context 157
HypothesisÍ: Idealism and ethical decision making
are positivelyrelated.That is, increasedidealism
resultsin higher recognitionof an ethical issue
and ethicalintention.
Hypothesis2: Relativism and ethical reasoningare
negativelyrelated. That is, increased relativism
resultsin lower recognitionof an ethicalissueand
ethicalintention.
Moralintensity
and ethicalreasoning
Moral intensity is anotherfactorknown to influence
ethicalreasoning(Jones,1991). This constructrep-
resentsperceptionsof the situationaltraitsfound in
an ethicaldilemma,which distinguishes it fromboth
individualsand contextualdeterminants of individ-
ual ethics.Moral intensity is a perceivedissue-related
characteristic comprising dimensions thatultimately
strengthen ethical issue recognition,ethical judg-
ment,ethicalintention,and ethicalbehavior (Jones,
1991). The dimensions of moral intensityare
"magnitude of consequence," which involves an
unethical behavior's strengthof impact, "social
consensus,"which is based on the degree to which
consensusexistsabout a behavior'sunethicalnature,1
and "temporal immediacy," which involves how
quicklyoutcomes are witnessed(Jones,1991). Sev-
eral other dimensions of moral intensityexist,
including"proximity"thatis based on the closeness
one feelsforindividualshurtby unethicalconduct,
"probabilityof harm" thatinvolvesthelikelihoodof
adverselyaffectingothers, and "concentrationof
effect" that isolates the potency of an unethical
action (Jones,1991). These factorswork together
to increase perceptionsof moral intensity,which
enhance the steps of the ethical decision-making
processby strengthening sensitivity to the attributes
of an ethical situation(e.g., Barnett,2001; Barnett
and Valentine, 2004; Carlson et al., 2002; Jones,
1991; Singhapakdi et al., 1996, 1999; Valentine
et al., 2010).
Previous researchindeed supportsthe proposed
connectionbetween moralintensity and ethicalrea-
soning. For instance,Singhapakdiet al. (1996) con-
cludedthatindividuals'perceptionsofmoralintensity
were associatedwithincreasedethicalissueawareness
and intentionsto actethically, whileSinghapakdietal.
(1999) concluded that perceived moral intensity
158 and ConnieR. Bateman
Sean R. Valentine
resultedin increasedrecognitionof an ethicalissue
and decreasedintentionsto act unethically.Barnett
(2001) also foundthatdifferent dimensionsof moral
intensity, such as magnitude the consequences,
of
social consensus,and proximity, were relatedto eth-
ical issue recognition,ethicaljudgment,and ethical
intention.Paolillo and Vitell (2002) also determined
that moral intensitywas associated with increased
intentionsto behave ethicallyin two different situa-
tions that contained an ethical problem. Finally,
BarnettandValentine(2004) providedevidencefrom
a sampleofsalesprofessionals thatdimensionsofmoral
intensity were associatedwithincreasedethicalissues
recognition and ethicaljudgments,as well as decreased
unethicalintentions.Since issue-contingencies likely
influenceethicalreasoning, thefollowinghypothesis is
presented:
3: Moral intensityand ethical reasoning
Hypothesis
are positivelyrelated.That is, increasedperceived
moralintensity resultsin higherrecognitionof an
ethicalissue and ethicalintention.
Socialcontext
and ethicalreasoning
The work environmentcan also exert a strong
normativeinfluenceon individuals'ethical reason-
ing because such "social context" provides cues
about how criticalissues should be addressedwith
moral awareness/ethical issue recognition(Butter-
field et al., 2000; Davis et al., 1998; Jones, 1991;
Morris and McDonald, 1995; Singer, 1996) and
moralintent(Jones1991). Inherentin the definition
of moral awarenessis "a person's recognitionthat
his/herpotentialdecision or action could affectthe
interests,welfare,or expectationsof theselfor others
in a fashionthat may conflictwith one or more
ethicalstandards"(Butterfieldet al., 2000, p. 982),
which suggeststhatan individual'sabilityto recog-
nize themoralnatureof a situationand to act on this
tendencyis partlybased on standardsthat are for-
mulatedwithina broadersocial context.One must
thereforeunderstandthe cognitive frameworksor
scriptsthat individuals use to filterand encode
informationwhen they evaluate circumstances
(Abelson, 1981; Gioia and Poole, 1984). Such an
understanding likelystemsfroman appreciationof
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the ethicalculture/climate thatencouragesemploy-
ees to appropriately reactto ethicaldilemmasbased
on ethical values, codes, the actions of managers/
leaders,and behavioralnorms(Adams et al., 2001;
Barnettand Vaicys,2000; Hunt et al., 1989; Treviño,
1986; Treviño and Nelson, 2007; Treviño et al.,
1998).
Butterfieldet al. (2000) identifiedtwo compo-
nents of social context: "social consensus" and
"competitivecontext."Social consensusdependson
"the degree to which one believes that people in
one's own company or industrywill thinkthat a
given action is ethical problematic," (Butterfield
et al., 2000, p. 990), and competitivecontext is
shaped by the "organizationor industrynormsthat
focusattentionon ends,ratherthanmeans" (p. 991),
withthepresenceof aggressivecompetitivenormsin
the workplace. These variablesare consistentwith
conceptions of social norms, insomuch that "on
manyoccasions,we base our actionson expectations
about the behaviorof others. . . expectationsare the
-
product of social norms rules and standardsthat
impose limitson acceptablebehavior" (Jones,1994,
pp. 545-546). In thebusinesscontext,even informal
normsand socializationcan affectindividualethics
(McClaren et al., 2010).
Perceptionsof social consensusthata sales-related
actioniswrongshouldenhancebothrecognitionofan
ethicalissue and ethicalintention,while perceptions
of competitivecontextshould presentan opposite
effect(Butterfieldet al., 2000). Previous research
studiesindicate that social consensusis one of the
strongestpredictorsof moral intent (Jones,1992;
Marshalland Dewe, 1997; Morris and McDonald,
1995; Singer,1996), andthatsalespersons'perceptions
of the competitivework environmentis associated
withdecreasedethicalintentions(Schwepker,1999).
The followinghypothesesare therefore presented:
4: Social consensusand ethicalreasoning
Hypothesis
are positivelyrelated.That is, increasedperceived
consensus that a questionable action is wrong
resultsin higher recognitionof an ethical issue
and ethicalintention.
5: Competitivesocial contextand ethical
Hypothesis
reasoningare negativelyrelated.That is, increased
competitionto sell resultsin lower recognitionof
an ethicalissue and ethicalintention.
 MoralIntensity,
The ImpactofEthicalIdeologies,
ofan ethicalissueand ethicalintention
Recognition
The ethicalreasoningprocessincludesfourkeystages
the progressfromthe awarenessof ethicalproblems
throughactualdemonstrated ethicalbehavior(Jones,
1991; Rest, 1986). Previous researchstudiesshow that
ethical issue recognition and ethical intentionare
particularlyimportant componentsof thisprocessbe-
cause such problemawarenessand planned conduct
representboth a starting point and an internalcom-
mitmentto ethical performance(Butterfieldet al.,
2000; Jones,1991; Rest, 1986). Given theseapparent
linkages,recognizingan ethicalissue should consis-
tentlyenhancethe likelihoodthatan individualwill
become more committedto behavingin an ethical
manner.Indeed, previousresearchstudiesalso show
thatethicalissueawarenessand ethicalintentionsare
positivelyrelated(Barnettand Valentine,2004; Sing-
2 3
hapakdiet al., 1999; Valentineand Barnett,2007).
The followinghypothesis is thereforeproposed:
Hypothesis6: Recognition of an ethical issue and
ethical intentionare positivelyrelated. That is,
increasedrecognitionof an ethicalissue resultsin
higherintentionsto behave ethically.
Method
Data
Information was gatheredfroma populationof 387
undergraduatebusiness studentsattendinga med-
ium-sized national universitylocated in the Mid-
westernUnited States. Other published studiesof
businessethics,particularlythose published in the
fournalof BusinessEthics,have successfullyutilized
studentsamplesto evaluate a varietyof issues (e.g.,
Elango et al., 2010; Nguyan and Biderman,2008;
Petersonet al., 2010; Power and Lundsten,2005),
and while the individualssampled in this current
investigation were not graduatestudents,a majority
had currentor previous work experience,making
them acceptable based on the issues explored. In-
deed, Nguyanand Biderman(2008) in theirstudyof
ethical reasoningclaimed that supervisoryexperi-
ence should greatly mitigate concerns over the
of resultsgeneratedfroma student
generalizability
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and Social Context 159
sample. A survey,containingdifferentethics sce-
nariosand measures,was developed to collect rele-
vant informationfor this study, as well as other
investigationsof business ethics. The survey was
distributedto studentsduring class time, and they
received extra credit in returnfor their voluntary
participation.
Respondents were directed to read a series of
scenarios,puttingthemselvesin the role of decision
makerand makingethicalevaluations.Subjectswere
thenasked to completeall the remainingpartsof the
survey.Respondents put theirname on the cover
page ofthesurvey,whichwas thenseparatedfromthe
surveyitselfupon collection, therebyallowing the
professorto assignextracreditpoints,while ensuring
the anonymity of the responses. On average,
respondents completedthesurveywithin50 minutes.
A majorityof thesubjectswere 18-25 yearsofage
(96.4%), 55.3% were male,and 96.1%)indicatedthat
theircountryoforiginwas theUnited States.Slightly
over 95% of individualswere white, 42.9% had
3 yearsof college, 35.7% had 4 yearsof college, and
49.9% had 1 yearor lessoffull-timeworkexperience,
while 19.4% had 2 years,10.9% had 3 years,5.9% had
4 years,3.4% had 5 years,and 6.7% had 6 or more
years.4Justover 25% claimed that they had some
directsellingexperience,while over halfof the sub-
jects had worked for a company that had ethics
training(52.7%) and an ethicscode (78.8%>).
Measures
Ethicsscenario
Ethicalscenariosthatsimulaterealbusinesssituations
are oftenused in ethicsresearchto obtain measures
of ethical reasoning (e.g., Alexander and Becker,
1978; Barnett,2001; Reidenbach and Robin, 1990;
Singhapakdi et al., 1996). An ethical scenario,
adapted from Ross and Robertson (2003), was
thereforeutilized to assess moral intensity,ethical
issue recognition,and ethical intention.The items
associated with these measures were presented
immediatelyafterthe followingscenario:
Making the sale
forThe Dakota
new salesperson
You are a relatively
Company, a $30 million manufacturerof western
160 Sean R. Valentine
and ConnieR. Bateman
wear. Your territory coversVirginiaand the two
Carolinas,and duringyourfirst yearin thisterritory,
you haveperformed well,butnotas wellas
relatively
thesalesperson who previouslyhad theterritory.You
havea decisionto make.Your biggestcustomer is the
W. D. PenderCompany,a largeregionaldepartment
storechain,whichbuysallofitsprivate labelbluejeans
fromThe DakotaCompany.Penderis one ofDakota's
largerregionalaccounts,and you have improved
Dakota's positionwith Pendera greatdeal. Now,
Penderhas rotateda new buyerinto deal withthe
DakotaCompany.Thisbuyer,a successful twelve-year
veteranwithPender,hasmadeit clearthata valuable
presentis expectedfromyou to maintaingood rela-
tions.You understand thisto meanthattheordermay
verywellbe lostifyou do notcome up witha really
good present.The ordersfromPender are worth
$300,000 ($100,000)!a yearin salesto Dakota and
$3000 ($1000) a year in commissionto you. The
market forwestern wearis tightthisyear,so it is not
likelythateitheryou or Dakota can replacethe lost
sales(in fact,layoffs
mayevenbe required).5
This particularscenario was considered acceptable
foruse in thiscurrentinvestigationbecause Ross and
Robertson (2003) reportedthatthe vignettegener-
ated a measureof ethicalitythathad a mean value
close to midpointwithinthe possible range of the
scale with a reasonablyhigh standarddeviation.
These resultssuggested that the scenario would
generatesimilarvariabilityin the ethics measures
included in this study. In addition, even though
varioustypesof giftgivingmaybe consideredillegal
based on differentstatestatutes,the presenceof such
laws may not constitutethe basis for individual
ethicality(Robertson and Ross, 1995). Finally,the
scenariopresentedan ethicalsituationthatcould be
understoodby a varietyof subjects,which increased
the likelihood thatissues would resonatewith stu-
dents.
Recognition ofan ethicalissue
Recognition of an ethical issue was assessed with
one-item that required subjects to indicate if the
action presentedin the vignetteinvolved an ethical
issue. Similaritems have been successfullyused in
past researchto measure the firststep of ethical
reasoning(Barnettand Valentine,2004; Fleischman
et al., 2007; Reidenbach and Robin, 1990; Valen-
tine and Barnett,2007). Opinions were given on a
seven-pointLikertscale thatcontained"completely
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agree/completelydisagree" as opposing adjectives,
and higherscores indicatedenhanced ethical issue
recognition.
Ethicalintention
A behavioral intentionscale was used to evaluate
intentionsnot to engage in the gift-giving action
described in the scenario, and other studieshave
used the same or similaritems to assessindividual
ethicalintentions(e.g., Barnettand Valentine,2004;
Barnettet al., 1996; Valentine et al., 2010). Indi-
viduals indicated the probabilitythat they would
engage in giftgivingby respondingto fourseven-
point semantic differentialscales that contained
the text "definitelywould-definitely would not,"
"likely-unlikely," "improbable-probable," and
"possible-impossible."Items were coded so that
higherscoresshowed increasedbehavioralintentions
thatwere ethical,and the scale had a coefficient
a of
0.97.
Moralintensity
Perceived moral intensitywas evaluated with six
itemsthatrepresenteddifferent issue-contingencies,
and ratingswere provided on a nine-pointscale
anchoredby 1 (stronglyagree) and 9 (stronglydis-
agree) (Singhapakdiet al., 1996, 1999). The items
include"The overallharm(ifany)done as a resultof
my action would be very small," "Most people
would agree thatmy action is wrong," "There is a
small likelihood that my action will actuallycause
any harm," "My action will not cause any harmin
an immediatefuture,""If I was a personalfriendof
my boss, my action is wrong," and "My actionwill
harmveryfewpeople (ifany)." Individualsprovided
theiropinions about the issue-contingencies in the
gift-giving situation,and itemswere coded so that
higher scores representedincreasedperceptionsof
moral intensity.A principal components factor
analysisusing varimaxrotationwas used to deter-
mine the measurementpropertiesof the instrument.
The resultsindicatedthatthe second and fifthitems
related to social consensusand proximity,respec-
tively,loaded on a second factor,and so theseitems
were deleted fromthe analysis.The revisedfactor
analyticmodel indicated that the remainingfour
items captured one constructwith factorloadings
above 0.83, an eigenvalueof 2.97, and over 74% of

, MoralIntensity,
The ImpactofEthicalIdeologies
explained variance. The scale's coefficienta was
0.88.
Ethicalideologies
The ethicalpositionquestionnaire(EPQ) was used
to measureindividuals'ethical ideologies (Forsyth,
1980). The EPQ contains20 items (10 itemseach
for idealism and relativism),two of which were
44One should never
psychologicallyor physically
harm anotherperson" and "What is ethical varies
from one situationand society to another," and
statementswere ratedwith a seven-pointscale an-
44
choredby 1" (stronglydisagree)and "7" (strongly
agree). Higher item scores indicatedstrongerideal-
ism and relativism.
Even thoughthe EPQ has been used extensively
in past research, a principal components factor
analysiswas specifiedto determinethe factorstruc-
tureof the measure.Afterconstrainingthe solution
to two factors,the resultsindicatedthatthe seventh
item associatedwith idealismloaded more strongly
(butstillweaklyoverall)on the relativismfactor,and
so thisitemwas deletedfrom the model, and another
factoranalysiswas specified.The resultsforthe re-
vised factoranalyticmodel indicated that the two
factorshad appropriateloadings that matched the
idealismand relativismconstructs(loadings ranged
from0.41 to 0.83), with eigenvaluesof 5.18 and
3.27, respectively,and 27.26 and 17.19% of ex-
plainedvariancevalues. The coefficienta forideal-
ismwas 0.87, and the coefficienta forrelativismwas
0.81.
Socialcontext
Two measures adapted from Butterfieldet al.
(2000) were used to assess social context. Social
consensus was measured with two items that in-
cluded "To what degree would other salespeople
thinkit was wrong to give gifts?"and "To what
degree would othersalespeoplethinkthatit would
be ethicallywrong to give gifts?"Althoughmoral
intensityincludes considerationof social consensus
as definedby Jones (1991), it is importantto note
thatthismeasureof social consensuswas not asso-
ciated with the moral intensitymeasure,indicating
that there is a contextual element of perceived
social consensusthatexistsoutside of the decision-
making situation.Competitive context was mea-
sured with three items that included "To what
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and Social Context
161
degree are salespeople encouraged to give giftsto
earn business (whateverit takes)?", "To what de-
gree are salespeoplewillingto do whateverit takes
to earn business?",and "To what degree are the
people you hang out with willingto do whateverit
takes to win in business?". In particular,the last
item should resonate with a student population
because the item taps elements of an individual's
broader ethical context. Each of the items were
rated with a five-point scale comprising "G =
= much" (coded as 4),
great" (coded as 5), "M
"S = some" (coded as 3), "L = little" (coded as 2),
and "N = none" (coded as 1), with higherscores
indicatingstrongersocial context.Since Butterfield,
et al. (2000) performed principal components
analysison the social context measures,a similar
factormodel usingvarimaxrotationwas specifiedin
this investigation.The resultsshowed a two-factor
solution with factorloadings rangingfrom0.74 to
0.91. The firstfactorhaving an eigenvalue of 2.00
and 39.93% of the variancewas explained,and the
second factor having an eigenvalue of 1.49 and
29.89% of the variancewas explained. The coeffi-
cient as for social consensusand competitivecon-
text were 0.80 and 0.66, respectively.
Socialdesirability
An additive scoring of ten statementsfrom the
Marlowe-Crowne Social DesirabilityScale (Crowne
and Marlowe, 1960), selected by Richins and
Dawson (1992) because of the abilityto distinguish
between high and low values, was included in the
analysisas a controlfor impressionbias which can
negativelyaffectethics research(Randall and Fer-
nandes, 1991). Sample itemsincluded "I sometimes
feel resentfulwhen I don't get my way" and "I'm
always carefulabout my manner of dress." State-
ments were assessedwith a dichotomous response
format(1 = True and 0 = False). Itemswere coded
so that higher scores indicated increased social
desirability,and scoreswere summatedfora possible
of 0-10. The scale had a coefficienta of 0.62.
range
Analysis
A pairwisedeletion technique was used to account
for missing data throughout this investigation.
162 and ConnieR. Bateman
Sean R. Valentine

were firstevaluatedto
Variable descriptivestatistics
determinethe relativestrength of the focalvariables,
and correlationswere examined to determinethe
relationshipsamong these variables. Finally, two
hierarchicalregressionmodels were specifiedto di-
rectlytestthe study'sproposed relationships.In the
firstmodel, ethicalissuerecognitionwas specifiedas
the dependentvariable,and the control variables,
ethicalideologies,moralintensity, and social context
constructswere specifiedas independentvariables.
In the second model, ethicalintentionwas specified
as the dependentvariable,which was regressedon
the controlvariables,ethical issue recognition,the
ethical ideologies, moral intensity,and the social
contextmeasures.
Results
and correlations
statistics
Descriptive (focalvariables)
Table I providesa summaryof the descriptivesta-
tisticsand correlationsassociated with the focal
variables.The mean values forthe ethicalreasoning
measures indicated that subjects' decisions were
reasonablyethical,and mean scores for the ethical
ideologies showed that subjectsscored moderately
high in both idealism and relativism.The mean
scoresformoralintensity and the two social context
variablesindicatedthat individualsperceived mod-
erateissue-related
factors,moderatesocial consensus,
and moderatelyhigh competitivecontext.Analysis
of the correlationsshowed that recognitionof an
ethicalissue was positivelyrelatedto idealism,moral
intensity,and social consensus. Further, ethical
intention was positively related to both moral
intensityand social consensusand negativelyrelated
to both relativismand competitivecontext. Con-
traryto Forsyth(1980), idealismand relativism were
not orthogonalbut were positivelyassociated,as was
found in Henle, et al. (2005), and relativismwas
positivelyrelatedto a competitivecontext.Finally,
social consensus and competitive context were
negativelyrelated.Correlationanalysisindicatedthat
the linkagesinvolvingidealism,moralintensity, and
social consensuswith recognition of a moral issue
were relativelyequal and positive.The analysisalso
showed thatmoral intensityand social contexthad
equally strongand positiveassociationswith ethical
intention;however,relativism was weaklyassociated
with moral intensity.Relativism and competitive
contextwere negativelyrelatedto ethicalintention.
Finally,idealismand relativismwere the only vari-
implyingthatsuch
ables relatedto social desirability,
bias was not a problem. These relationshipsdid
indicate that the measure should be included as a
controlin the analysis.
Hierarchical analysis
regression
The resultsof the hierarchicalregressionanalysisare
presentedin Table II. In the firstregressionmodel
thatspecifiedrecognitionof an ethicalissue as the
dependentvariable,the controlswere enteredinto
the model first,which did not resultin a significant

TABLE I
Descriptive and correlations
statistics (focalvariables)

Variable M SD N 1 2 3 4 5 6 78

1. Recognitionofan 5.00 1.73 387 -

ethicalissue
2. Ethicalintention 3.62 1.65 387 0.33***
3. Idealism 4.98 1.02 387 0.15** 0.07
4. Relativism 4.37 0.88 386 -0.06 -0.12* 0.23***
5. Moralintensity 4.41 1.89 387 0.17*** 0.19*** 0.03 0.05
6. Socialconsensus 3.13 0.88 387 0.16** 0.20*** 0.02 -0.05 -0.01
7. Competitive context 3.67 0.72 387 -0.09 -0.21*** 0.03 0.14** -0.02 -0.14**
8. Socialdesirability 4.51 2.27 387 -0.02 0.01 0.20*** 0.10* 0.07 0.05 -0.09 -

***p < 0.001; **p < 0.01, *p < 0.05.

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 , MoralIntensity,
The ImpactofEthicalIdeologies and Social Context 163

TABLE II
Hierarchical analysis
regression

variable(s)
Independent Dependentvariable

Recognitionofan ethicalissue Ethicalintention

ß
ß_
Gender3 -0.03 0.01
Educationlevelb 0.08 0.02
Yearsofexperience workingfull-time -0.12* -0.04
Socialdesirability -0.01 0.01
Step 1 AR2 0.02 0.00
Idealism 0.19***
Relativism -0.08
Recognitionof an EthicalIssue 0.33***
Step2 AR2 0.03** 0.11***
MoralIntensity 0.16**
Idealism 0.04
Relativism -0.11*
Step3 AR2 0.03** 0.01
Socialconsensus 0.15**
Competitive context -0.06
Moralintensity 0.15**
Step4 AR2 0.03** 0.02**
Socialconsensus 0.13**
Competitive context -0.16**
Step5 AR2 0.04***
Model F 4.98*** 8.61***
AdjustedR2 0.09 0.17
N 386 386

***/?< 0.001,**p < 0.01, *p < 0.05.

al = female,2 = male.
bl = 1 yearof college,2 = 2 yearsof college,3 = 3 yearsof college,4 = 4 yearsof college,5 = 5 yearsof college,
6 = 6 yearsof collegeor more.

change in R2; however, years of full-timework
experience was negativelyrelated to ethical issue
recognition.The ethical ideologies were entered
next,which caused a significantchange in R2, and
idealismwas associatedwith increasedethical issue
recognition.This findingprovidedstatisticalsupport
forHypothesis1. Moral intensity was also associated
with increasedethicalissue recognitionin the third
stepof the model, providingsupportforHypothesis
3, and the additionof thisvariablecaused a signifi-
cant change in R2. Finally,the social contextvari-
ables were entered in the fourthstep, causing a
significantchange in R2. Social consensus was
associatedwith increasedethical issue recognition,
whichprovidedsupportforHypothesis4. However,
not all individual-and social context-levelconstructs
were associatedwith recognitionof an ethicalissue.
Specifically,neitherrelativismnor perceived com-
petitive context was related to recognitionof an
ethicalissue.
In the second regressionmodel, ethicalintention
was identified as the dependent variable. The
controlswere entered into the model first,which
did not resultin a significantchange in R . Rec-
ognition of an ethical issue was entered into the
model in the second step, promptinga significant
change in R2. Ethical issue recognitionwas asso-
ciated with increased ethical intention,and as a
predictor variable, recognition of a moral issue
accounted for an incremental11% in the adjusted

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164 Sean R. Valentine
and ConnieR. Bateman
R2 forethicalintention,thussupportingHypothesis
6. The ethicalideologies were enterednext,which
did not presenta significantchange in R2. How-
ever, relativismwas associatedwith decreased eth-
ical intention, providing statisticalsupport for
Hypothesis2. The addition of the moral intensity
variable in the fourth step caused a significant
change in R2, and moral intensitywas associated
with increased ethical intention,providing addi-
tionalsupportforHypothesis3. The social context
variableswere entered into the model in the last
step, causing a significantchange in Ř2. Social
consensus was associated with increased ethical
intention,and competitivecontext was associated
with decreased ethical intention. These findings
provided supportfor Hypotheses 4 and 5. How-
ever, it should be noted that idealism was not
associated with ethical intention. The following
section provides a discussion of the researchand
pragmaticimplications,limitationsof the study,and
suggestionsforfutureinquiry.
Discussion
Results showed that ethical ideologies, issue-con-
tingencies,and environmentalconstructsworked
togetherto influencerecognitionof an ethicalissue
and ethicalintention.Clearly,the resultsindicated
thattherewas enhanced predictivepower in eval-
uating all the three antecedent constructswhen
studyingthe moral reasoning process. Although
previousresearchsuggeststhatethicalreasoningis an
individual-levelprocess,this researchsuggeststhat,
in sales-relatedcontexts,it is also a social and issue-
contingentprocess.
As shown in this study,individualswith career
aspirations in businessare more likelyto recognizea
moralissuein a salescontextwhen theyare usingan
idealisticethicalideology,and theyperceivedgreater
moralintensity in thesituation(consistentwithRest,
1986 and Jones, 1991), and perceived that social
consensus existed that the action in question was
wrong.Moral intensity is a significantinfluenceron
the reasoning process, and this finding supports
previous research(Davis et al., 1998; Morris and
McDonald, 1995; Singer 1996). Consistent with
Butterfieldet al. (2000), perceived social context
influencesthe ethicalreasoningsteps.
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Individualsare more likelyto have moral inten-
tions in a sales contextwhen theyare using a less
relativisticethical ideology (being less sensitiveto
situationalfactors),perceivinggreatermoralintensity
in the situation,perceivingthat a social consensus
exists that having ethical intentionsis right,and
perceivingless competitiveintensityin relationto
thesalescontext.This is contrary to Butterfield
et al.
(2000) who found "when individuals perceive
highlyaggressivecompetitiveprocesses,theyare also
more aware of ethical issues" (p. 1002); and
Schwepker (1999) who said "it is possible that in
environments perceivedto be less competitive,sales
people believe customershave littlechoices other
than theirofferingand thereforewill (or must) put
up with less than ethical behavior" (p. 310).
Working in environmentswith highlycompetitive
contextmay weaken ethicalintentions.
Human resource professionalsmay utilize the
EPQ in selectionand placementdecisionsto identify
applicantswho are more prone to an idealisticide-
ology and subsequentlymore likely to recognize
moral issues and establishmoral intentions,thus
promoting an idealistic moral philosophy among
employees(e.g., adherenceto codes of ethicalcon-
duct and policies) and discouraging relativistic
mindsets(e.g., situationalethics). However, proper
measuresshouldbe takento controlforthetendency
to providesociallycorrectanswerson thisparticular
instrument. Human resourceprofessionals may also
implementtrainingand mentoringprogramsthat
provide formal and informal opportunitiesfor
salespersonsto become sensitizedto various ideo-
logical proclivities,better aware of the elements
comprisingthe moral intensityof a situation,and
well-versed in positive social, professional,and
organizationalnorms.Systematizedstrategies to en-
hance ethical sensitivitiesmay contributeto an
expansion of cognitive scriptsused by salespeople
that currentlycall for considerationsof purely
financialor non-ethical concerns. Strategiesmay
include training,rewards,punishments,reporting
requirements,transparencypolicies, compensation
systems,and defined approaches toward ethical
conduct in foreign countries. In turn, this may
precipitatea decline in the frequencyof unethical
behaviors, a decrease in unnecessarycosts and
turnover,and an increase in job satisfactionand
positiveorganizationalculture.This researchfound
 and Social Context
MoralIntensity,
The ImpactofEthicalIdeologies, 165

thatwork experiencewas negativelyrelatedto rec- researchersexamining the ethical decision-making

ognitionof a moral issue, and even though sample processand organizationsmanaginga salesforce.
members in this study had relativelylittle work
experience,theimplicationis thatsensitivity training
should not be limited to salespeople functioning Notes
earlyin theircareers.Creatingawarenessof corpo-
ratenormsto facilitatea perceivedsocial consensus 1 Social consensuscan also be as a contextual
specified
shouldenhanceemployeebuy-intotheorganization's variable(e.g., Butterfieldet al., 2000), and thiscurrent
ethical culture. Indeed, formal/informal norms, studyincludessuchan additionalconceptualization.
2 Ethical as a focalvariable
socialization,professionalstandardsof ethics, and judgmentis not identified
ethicalaction are positivelyinterrelated(McClaren becausewe asked respondents to evaluate theethicality of
et al., 2010; Vitellet al., 1993). theirultimate decision in the gift-giving situation,rather
For instance,the thantheethicality oftheactionpresented in thescenario.
This studyhas severallimitations. 3 Validpercentages
researchdesignwas crosssectionalin nature,which reported.
4 on thisitemwerecoded as "0."
Non-responses
preventsthe development of explicit conclusions 5 The scenario
presentedtwo possible situations
about variablecausality.In addition,theinformation ratio (i.e.,
involvinga 10% order size/commission
was collected with a self-reportsurvey, which $100,000/$!, 000).
$300,000/$3,000;
potentially leadsto same-sourceand socialdesirability
biases. However, a social desirabilitymeasure was
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168 and ConnieR. Bateman
Sean R. Valentine

Sean R. Valentine ConnieR. Bateman

DepartmentofManagement, Department ofMarketing,
ofNorthDakota,
University of
University NorthDakota,
Drive,Mailstop8377, GrandForks,
293 Centennial Drive,Mailstop8366, GrandForks,
293 Centennial
ND 58202-8377, U.S.A. ND 58202-8366, U.S.A.
E-mail:sean.valentine@mail.
business
.und.edu E-mail:connie.bateman@business.und.edu

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