Changes in attitudes towards business ethics held by former South African business management students

Abstract

The objective of this study was to assess whether, and how, the attitudes towards
 business ethics of former South African business students have changed between
 the early 1990s and 2010. The study used the Attitudes Toward Business Ethics
 Questionnaire (ATBEQ) and applied a comparative analysis between leading
 business schools in South Africa.
 The findings of this study found a significant change in attitudes based on a set time
 frame, with a trend towards stronger opinions on business ethics and espoused
 values. Eleven factors came out as fundamental, although they were less able to
 explain the variation in the attitudes than the previous study. A significant change in
 the rankings of variables was noted and indicated a shift in attitude toward a
 teleological moral philosophy as well as utilitarian motives. This shows a clear trend towards compliance-based ethics, which can be explained by the proliferation of
 business legislation and regulation in the wake of recent corporate governance
 failures and the subsequent global financial crisis.

http://link.springer.com/journal/10551

hb2014