The Impact of Ethics Code Familiarity on Manager Behavior

Codes of ethics exist in many, if not the majority, of all large U.S. companies today. But how the impact of these written codes affect managerial attitudes and behavior is still not clearly documented or explained. This study takes a step in that direction by proposing that attention should shift from the codes themselves as the sources of ethical behavior to the persons whose behavior is the focus of these codes. In particular, this study investigates the role of code familiarity as a factor impacting the influence of an ethics code on manager behavior. Data collected from 286 executives from companies in the direct selling industry are used to test hypotheses (1) that the perceived usefulness of ethics codes is positively related to the degree of familiarity with the code, and (2) that ethical climate as assessed by managers is positively related to the code's perceived usefulness. Both hypotheses are supported, and their implications and further research directions are discussed.     

共享经济下高校大学生创新创业人才培养保障体系研究

以创新创业教育为导向的高等教育改革成为当前高等教育改革的重要任务.基于共享经济理论指导,论文构建高校大学生创新创业人才培养保障体系的框架;从组织、制度、平台、资源保障四个方面分析创新创业人才培养保障体系的构成要素.最后,分析了高校创新创业人才培养保障体系的利益共享机制、资源整合机制和分工协作机制.     

The Ethics of Innovation: p2p Software Developers and Designing Substantial Noninfringing Uses Under the Sony Doctrine

This essay explores the controversy over peer-to-peer (p2p) software, examining the legal and ethical dimensions of allowing software companies to develop p2p technologies. It argues that, under the Supreme Court’s ruling in the Sony betamax case, technology developers must be accorded the freedom to innovate and develop technologies that are capable of substantial noninfringing uses. This doctrine, known as the Sony doctrine, provides an important safe harbor for technological development, including p2p. The safe harbor, however, does not immunize conduct beyond the design, sale, or supply of the product. For other conduct that falls outside the Sony safe harbor, the traditional standards of secondary liability apply.     

Impact of Emotional Intelligence,Ethical Climate,and Behavior of Peers on Ethical Behavior of Nurses

This study examines factors impacting ethical behavior of 103 hospital nurses. The level of emotional intelligence and ethical behavior of peers had a significant impact on ethical behavior of nurses. Independence climate had a significant impact on ethical behavior of nurses. Other ethical climate types such as professional, caring, rules, instrumental, and efficiency did not impact ethical behavior of respondents. Implications of this study for researchers and practitioners are discussed.     

流动性约束对农户创业选择行为的影响——基于晋、甘、浙三省894户农民家庭的调查

流动性约束对中国农户创业行为有着切实的阻碍作用。通过分别利用"家庭土地出租收入"和"礼金收入"作为工具变量来克服流动性约束变量的内生性问题,基于晋、甘、浙三省农户的研究表明:流动性约束对中国农民是否选择创业以及选择何种创业类型具有显著的、一致的阻碍作用;此外,只有源于正规金融部门的流动性约束才对农户是否选择创业和创业类型产生抑制性作用,而非正规金融部门的流动性约束则不会对农户创业行为产生抑制作用。因此,旨在增加农民收入的创业扶持政策应该更加注重畅通农户通过正规金融渠道缓解流动性约束,而不应过分强调非正规金融渠道的作用。     

Toward a Model of Cross-Cultural Business Ethics: The Impact of Individualism and Collectivism on the Ethical Decision-Making Process

In this paper, we explore the impact of individualism and collectivism on three basic aspects of ethical decision making – the perception of moral problems, moral reasoning, and behavior. We argue that the inclusion of business practices within the moral domain by the individual depends partly upon individualism and collectivism. We also propose a pluralistic approach to post-conventional moral judgment that includes developmental paths appropriate for individualist and collectivist cultures. Finally, we argue that the link between moral judgment and behavior is related to individualism and collectivism.

The Nature and Management of Ethical Corporate Identity: A Commentary on Corporate Identity,Corporate Social Responsibility and Ethics

In this paper we open up the topic of ethical corporate identity: what we believe to be a new, as well as highly salient, field of inquiry for scholarship in ethics and corporate social responsibility. Taking as our starting point Balmer’s (in Balmer and Greyser, 2002) AC²ID test model of corporate identity – a pragmatic tool of identity management – we explore the specificities of an ethical form of corporate identity. We draw key insights from conceptualizations of corporate social responsibility and stakeholder theory. We argue ethical identity potentially takes us beyond the personification of the corporation. Instead, ethical identity is seen to be formed relationally, between parties, within a community of business and social exchange. Extending the AC²ID test model, we suggest the management of ethical identity requires a more socially, dialogically embedded kind of corporate practice and greater levels of critical reflexivity. John M. T. Balmer is Professor of Corporate Brand/Identity Management at Bradford University School of Management. His research focuses on a range of corporate-level marketing issues and has a particular interest in the management of corporate brands and identities. His work has been published in leading journals such as California Management Review and Long Range Planning. With Stephen Greyser he co-authored Revealing the Corporation (Routledge, 2003). Kyoko Fukukawa is a lecturer in marketing at Bradford University School of Management and holds a Ph.D. from University of Nottingham, UK. Her research interests include ethical decision-making in consumption and business practices; corporate social responsibility (CSR) of MNCs concerning their policies and strategic communication; and CSR and corporate branding. Her publications appear in Journal of Business Ethics, Journal of Corporate Citizenship and others. Edmund R. Gray is Professor and Chair in the Department of Management at Loyola Marymount University. He is author or co-author of five textbooks and numerous scholarly articles. He holds a Ph.D. from UCLA. His research interests centre around issues of corporate identity, corporate social responsibility and environmental sustainability. Currently, he is conducting research on entrepreneurial firms with environmental/social goals that are an integral part of their mission.     

The Impact of Social Darwinism Perception,Status Anxiety,Perceived Trust of People,and Cultural Orientation on Consumer Ethical Beliefs

This study intends to explore the effects of political, social and cultural values on consumers’ ethical beliefs regarding questionable consumption behaviors. The variables examined include status anxiety, social Darwinism perception, perceived trust of people, and cultural orientation. Based on a field survey in Taiwan, the results showed that consumers with low ethical beliefs have higher perception of social Darwinism and status anxiety than consumers possess neutral and high ethical beliefs. The result also showed that the neutral ethics group had higher trust on people than the low ethics groups. Finally, the high ethics group expressed significantly higher perception of vertical collectivism than those consumers of the low and neutral ethics group. Jyh-shen Chiou (Ph.D. in Marketing, Michigan State), is professor of Marketing, Dept. of International Business, College of Commerce, National Chengchi University, Taiwan. His research focuses on consumer behavior and strategic marketing. His work has been published in Journal of Academy of Marketing Science, Journal of Business Ethics, Journal of Interactive Marketing, Journal of Service Research European Journal of Marketing, Psychology & Marketing, Journal of Social Psychology, etc. Lee-Yun Pan, is assistant professor of marketing, Dept. of Business Administration, Feng Chia University.     

The Effect of Interpersonal Trust,Need for Cognition,and Social Loneliness on Shopping,Information Seeking and Surfing on the Web

This study contends that certain personality traits of e-consumers have an affect on their shopping, surfing and information seeking behaviors on the Web. Specifically, it is proposed that e-consumers who are low on interpersonal trust are less likely to shop on the Web due to their heightened concerns with Web security. Similarly, an argument is made that e-consumers who enjoy cognitively demanding processing tasks are more likely to use the Web for information search. Finally, it is posited that social loners will be selectively drawn to Web surfing. Findings from an empirical study are presented which support these assertions. Implications of this study for marketers and future researchers are discussed.     

The Effect of Social Cues on Sniping Behavior in Internet Auctions: Field Evidence and a Lab Experiment

This research explores how social cues presented in an online auction affect sniping behavior. Sniping is a strategy of placing a bid on an item in the very ending stages of an auction with a pre-determined ending time in an attempt to win the auction. Such a strategy conceals the intentions of the bidder until the last moments of the auction and minimizes the possibility of other opposing bidders submitting higher bids due to the short period of time left to respond. The research includes two field studies and a lab experiment indicating that sniping appears to be influenced by social factors, that is, when there are a greater number of bidders in the auction or the auction site provides social information about the bidders, the relative use of sniping increases. This research supports the perspective that bidders rely on others' bidding behavior and characteristics as an indication of the true value of the item on sale, and is one of the first studies in the literature which takes this perspective.     

‘The Impact of Corporate Ethical Values and Enforcement of Ethical Codes on the Perceived Importance of Ethics in Business: A Comparison of U.S. and Spanish Managers’

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.     

Beyond Just Being There: An Examination of the Impact of Attitudes,Materialism, and Self-Esteem on the Quality of Helping Behavior in Youth Volunteers

ABSTRACT

Young people represent a strong and growing source of volunteers for not-for-profit organizations (NPO) and are an important focus for NPO marketing efforts. Using helping behavior theory, this paper reports a study conducted with a sample of teenagers to examine influences on their decision to volunteer and their goal setting for fund-raising. The relationship between three individual variables (attitude toward the organization, self-esteem, and materialism) and the quality of helping behavior provided was found to be mediated in large part by attitude towards the actual volunteering task. Implications for NPO marketing and future research are discussed.     

Access (Not) Denied: The Impact of Financial, Human, and Cultural Capital on Entrepreneurial Entryin the United States

Entrepreneurship contributes to business dynamics in all economies, and the individual benefits of starting a business are clear. Nonetheless, access to business start-ups may not be available to all people because of resource constraints. Using a unique new data set for the United States, we examine the relative importance of three forms of resources in pursuing start-up ventures: financial, human, and cultural capital. Our analysis of the Panel Study of Entrepreneurial Dynamics shows that neither financial nor cultural capital resources are necessary conditions for entrepreneurial entry. By contrast, potential entrepreneurs gain significant advantages if they possess high levels of human capital. Specifically, advanced education and managerial experience are significantly positively associated with entrepreneurial entry. Our findings suggest that attempts at entering entrepreneurship, at least in the short-term, may be increasing, as opportunities to acquire human capital are becoming more widespread.