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Ethics Value - Management
Journal of Business Ethics (2006) 64: 31–43 DOI 10.1007/s10551-005-4664-5

Ó Springer 2006

The Impact of Corporate Ethical Values and Enforcement of Ethical Codes on the Perceived Importance of Ethics in Business: A Comparison Scott J. Vitell ´ Encarnacion Ramos Hidalgo of U.S. and Spanish Managers

ABSTRACT. This two country study examines the effect of corporate ethical values and enforcement of a code of ethics on perceptions of the role of ethics in the overall success of the firm. Additionally, the impact of organizational commitment and of individual variables such as ethical idealism and relativism was examined. The rationale for examining the perceived importance of the role of ethics in this manner is to determine the extent to which the organization itself can influence employee perceptions regarding ethics and social responsibility. Results indicate that all of the variables tested, except relativism, impacted upon one’s perceptions of the importance of ethics and social responsibility. Perceptions of the importance of ethics and social responsibility also varied depending upon country of residence with the

U.S. sample having somewhat higher perceptions concerning the importance of ethics and social responsibility than their counterparts in Spain. Furthermore, when comparing the two samples, the U.S. sample had significantly higher corporate ethical values, greater enforcement of ethical codes, less organizational commitment and both lower idealism and relativism. KEY WORDS: business ethics, codes of ethics, corporate ethical values, Spain

Introduction Due to the increasing concern of the general public about ethical issues in business, especially in the U.S., many organizations have tried to control the problems by institutionalizing ethics (Gellerman, 1989; Murphy, 1989; Stevens, 1994). For example, some organizations have made structural and procedural changes such as creating new ethics positions (e.g., ethics ombudsmen and ethics



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