Intelligence Vs. Wisdom: The Love of Money, Machiavellianism, and Unethical Behavior across College Major and Gender

This research investigates the efficacy of business ethics intervention, tests a theoretical model that the love of money is directly or indirectly related to propensity to engage in unethical behavior (PUB), and treats college major (business vs. psychology) and gender (male vs. female) as moderators in multi-group analyses. Results suggested that business students who received business ethics intervention significantly changed their conceptions of unethical behavior and reduced their propensity to engage in theft; while psychology students without intervention had no such changes. Therefore, ethics training had some impacts on business students’ learning and education (intelligence). For our theoretical model, results of the whole sample (N = 298) revealed that Machiavellianism (measured at Time 1) was a mediator of the relationship between the love of money (measured at Time 1) and unethical behavior (measured at Time 2) (the Love of Money → Machiavellianism → Unethical Behavior). Further, this mediating effect existed for business students (n = 198) but not for psychology students (n = 100), for male students (n = 165) but not for female students (n = 133), and for male business students (n = 128) but not for female business students (n = 70). Moreover, when examined alone, the direct effect (the Love of Money → Unethical Behavior) existed for business students but not for psychology students. We concluded that a short business ethics intervention may have no impact on the issue of virtue (wisdom). Thomas Li-Ping Tang (Ph.D., Case Western Reserve University) is a Full Professor of Management in the Department of Management and Marketing, Jennings A. Jones College of Business at Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU). He has taught Industrial and Organizational Psychology at National Taiwan University and at MTSU. Professor Tang teaches, has taught, MBA/EMBA courses in China (Hong Kong and Shanghai), France (Nantes), and Spain (Valencia). He serves, has served, on 6 editorial review boards and reviews papers for 28 journals. His research interests focus upon compensation, the Love of Money, business ethics, pay satisfaction, and cross-cultural issues. He has published more than 100 journal articles in top behavior sciences and management journals (e.g., Journal of Applied Psychology, Personnel Psychology, Human Relations, Journal of Management, Management Research, Management and Organization Review, Journal of Organizational Behavior, and Journal of Business Ethics.) and presented more than 190 papers in professional conferences and invited seminars. He was the winner of two Outstanding Research Awards (1991,1999) and Distinguished International Service Award (1999) at Middle Tennessee State University. He also received the Best Reviewer Awards from the International Management Division of the Academy of Management in Seattle, WA (2003) and in Philadelphia, PA (2007). Yuh-Jia Chen (Ph.D., Columbia University) is an Associate Professor of Business Statistics in the Rinker of School of Business at Palm Beach Atlantic University, West Palm Beach, FL 33416. He has taught statistics at Middle Tennessee State University and Teachers College, Columbia University. His research interests lie in money attitude, choice and decision-making, risk-taking behavior, and compensation. His publications have appeared in behavior sciences and management journals (e.g., Journal of Behavioral Decision Making, Journal of Business and Psychology, and Journal of Business Ethics).     

Measurement Invariance Across Gender and Major: The Love of Money Among University Students in People’s Republic of China

This study investigates measurement invariance of the 17-item-4-factor Love of Money Scale (LOMS) (Rich, Motivator, Success, and Important) across gender and college major among university students in People’s Republic of China. Results revealed configural (factor structures) invariance across gender. Metric (factor loadings) invariance across gender was not achieved based on chi-square change, but achieved based on fit indices change between unconstrained and constrained multi-group confirmatory factor analysis (MGCFA). Both configural invariance and metric invariance (chi-square change and fit indices change) were achieved across college major (law, sociology, and political science). Results of this study suggest that the Love of Money Scale, developed in the U.S., has achieved measurement invariance in this student sample in China. Future researchers will have some confidence in using this measurement when they examine the love of money in Chinese management and organizational studies.Linzhi Du is an Associate Professor of management in the Department of Management, Business School, Hohai University, in Nanjing, People’s Republic of China. Currently, he is conducting his post-doctoral research at Nanjing University in Nanjing. He received his Ph.D., degree in Social Psychology from Nankai University in Tianjin, China. His primary research interests are in the areas of organizational behavior, research method, measurement and evaluation, money attitudes, social psychology, and cross-cultural issues. He has published more than 10 journal articles and presented many papers at several international conferences around the world. He received the First Place Award of Research Excellence from the Ministry of Personnel, Jiangsu Province, China (2004).Thomas Li-Ping Tang (Ph.D., Case Western Reserve University) is a Full Professor of Management in the Department of Management and Marketing, Jennings A. Jones College of Business, Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU) in Murfreesboro, TN USA. He has taught Industrial and Organizational Psychology at National Taiwan University and at MTSU. His primary research interests are in organizational behavior, the love of money, unethical behaviors in the financial domain, work motivation, compensation decisions, satisfaction, turnover, OCB, and cross-cultural issues. He has published more than 93 journal articles (e.g., Journal of Applied Psychology, Personnel Psychology, Human Relations, Journal of Organizational Behavior, Journal of Management, Journal of Business Ethics, etc.), presented more than 160 papers in many countries, and reviewed papers for 24 journals around the world. He has received two Outstanding Research Awards (1991, 1999) and the Distinguished International Service Award (1999) at MTSU and the Best Reviewer Award form the International Management Division of the Academy of Management in Seattle, WA (2003).     

Testing a Model of Behavioral Intentions in the Republic of Macedonia: Differences Between the Private and the Public Sectors

In this study, we developed a model of unethical behavior intentions, collected data from managers of the private (n = 208) and the public (n = 307) sectors in the Republic of Macedonia, and tested our model across these two sectors. Results suggested that for both sectors, unethical behavior intentions were not related to the love of money and corporate ethical values, whereas irritation was negatively related to life satisfaction. Moreover, corporate ethical values were related to life satisfaction for the private sector only, whereas the love of money and unethical behavior intentions were related to irritation for the public sector only. Managers in the private sector had higher corporate ethical values, lower unethical behavior intentions, lower irritation, and higher life satisfaction than those in the public sector. There was no difference in the love of money. There were more bad apples in the public sector (34.85%) than in the private sector (23.56%). The strongest factor of unethical behavior intentions in the private and the public sectors␣was theft and corruption, respectively. Finally, for the culture-free (etic) model, the love of money was positively related to irritation. Corporate ethical values had a positive “double-whammy” effect: reducing irritation and enhancing life satisfaction. Unethical behavior intentions were positively related to irritation (a mediator), which was negatively related to life satisfaction. Our theory provides new insights regarding doing business in the Republic of Macedonia.

Managerial Ethics: An Empirical Study of Business Students in the American University of Beirut

This is a study that investigated the extent of use of the three principles of ethics – utility, morality, and justice – in managerial ethical decision making, in addition to the personal attitude towards them. It involved undergraduate and graduate business students (total N=163) from the Olayan School of Business in the American University of Beirut, Lebanon. Two kinds of measurements were done: self assessment, and testing with the Saschkin’ s Managerial Value Profile (1997). It showed that morality was the overriding ethical principle used, especially in the graduate group (professionals). Business students still believed in the justice system despite the weakness of the country’s law. Utility was the least used, although males were found to be more utilitarian than females. Finally there was no relation between personal attitudes toward the three ethical principles, and the intentional behavior when faced with ethical dilemmas. The findings were discussed and recommendations were given.