Comparing Attitudes Toward Ethical Dilemmas in Small Business

Abstract

This paper presents a comparative analysis of attitudes between Russian and U.S. undergraduate students on ethical issues in managing Russian small firms engaged in business transactions with U.S. firms. Based on the real life situations, Russian and American respondents were asked to select decision alternatives dealing with ethical dilemmas. Significant differences were found between the two groups. Russians do not recognize significant differences between various alternatives, despite the disparity in the severity of these alternatives for resolving business problems. Russians, compared to Americans, tend to prefer more forceful decision alternatives resorting to business practices that would be considered unethical in the U.S. This is attributable to differences in the countries' history, political, legal, and cultural environment. The transitional nature of the Russian economy affects decision-making and business ethics.     

Corporate governance as a foundation for corporate social responsibility in transitioning economies: The Russian experience

This article discusses the critical role of corporate governance in Russian business and management and its potential for promoting corporate social responsibility in that country. We describe the current state of these two phenomena and examine their linkages as they exist in Russia, and explain that this situation also applies in other transitioning economies. We conclude with implications for non‐Russians who would do business with Russian counterparts, and reasons why they should be aware of how these important issues can affect their dealings in those situations. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

An Investigation into the Formal Institutional Constraints that Restrict Entrepreneurship and SME Growth in Russia

The impact of institutions on the ease of doing business in transition economies has attracted considerable interest in recent years. The literature suggests that institutional quality is crucial in determining levels of entrepreneurship and SME development in such countries. Our research explores the perceptions of Russian SME owners regarding the quality of the institutional environment that they face making use of semi-structured interviews for data gathering purposes. We identify the political, economic and regulatory barriers that restrict entrepreneurship and SME growth in contemporary Russia, together with entrepreneurs’ views as to what reforms are needed for greater business growth in future.     

Competence and trust guardians as key elements of building trust in east-west joint ventures in Russia

This paper summarises the author 's doctoral research on the development of interpersonal/interorganisational trust in relationships between expatriate and Russian staff working in east-west enterprises in Russia. There is strong evidence from a variety of researchers to suggest that in order for western businesses investing in Russia to succeed, the dif.cult process of building trust needs to be understood and managed since in the Russian business climate western standards and norms of ethical business have not yet been established. According to research.ndings, western investors doing business in Russia and the long-term, personal trust that characterises family and friend relationships more congenial and more productive than formal, arm's-length contacts and contracts. In such a context, it becomes important to identify what creates and destroys trust in the post-Soviet business environment. This paper describes the causal factors leading to trust or lack of trust in relationships within western-invested strategic alliances in Russia. The key relationship under consideration is the one between expatriate western staff and managers seconded to the venture on the one hand, and their local Russian staff, counterparts and superiors on the other.     

Questionable Business Practices in Russia

ABSTRACT

This article applies Integrative Social Contracts Theory (Donaldson and Dunfee, 1994) to ethical issues in business situations in Russia arising between Russians and Westerners. The theory bases ethical decision making on universal hypernorms which are fundamental to human existence regardless of culture or nationality. Simultaneously, specific norms exist that may differ from one community or culture to another. The theory includes six criteria to help resolve conflicts among these different groups. This article uses a common situation of blat or personal favoritism in Russian business to illustrate how the theory can be applied to conflicting norms in interactions between Western business people and their counterparts in Central and Eastern European countries.     

明清晋商对俄茶叶贸易行为的经济分析

明清时期,山西商人目光远大、志存高远,在将整个中国版图纳入视野之内时,积极从事外向型经营,不失时机地开展对外交往.本文从需求和供给的角度出发,运用相互需求理论和H-O理论,分析了1840年之前的明清晋商茶帮对俄国的茶叶贸易行为,认为在没有外力干扰(如不平等条约)的情况下,两国的茶叶贸易遵循的是相互需求理论和资源禀赋论,从而揭示了明清晋商对俄茶叶贸易的动机.     

Perceptions of Proper Ethical Conduct of Male and Female Russian Managers

This study examined the impact of gender on perceptions of various business practices by male and female Russian managers. Female managers considered various activities such as doing personal business on company time, falsifying time/quality/quantity reports, padding an expense account more than 10 percent, calling in sick to take a day off, and pilfering organization materials and supplies more unethical than male managers. Female managers also perceived the acceptance of gifts and favors in exchange for preferential treatment more unethical than male managers.     

Nostalgia in post-socialist Russia: Exploring applications to advertising strategy

This article investigates nostalgia in post-socialist Russia from a consumer behavior perspective. The research includes the following components: 1) an overview of nostalgia and nostalgia proneness as a personality trait among Russians in the context of recent societal changes, 2) an analysis of four categories of nostalgia (personal, interpersonal, cultural, and virtual) and themes in nostalgia experiences provided by Russian respondents, and 3) a discussion of specific stimuli and advertising content in the Russian marketplace designed to evoke individual and collective nostalgia. The major nostalgia themes—specifically, the break-up of the Soviet Union, nature, and food—identified in the Russian responses are related to advertising and marketing elements for Russian products. The article also discusses the implications of consumer nostalgia for marketing and advertising strategy in the post-socialist Russian economy.     

Islamic Ethics and the Implications for Business

As global business operations expand, managers need more knowledge of foreign cultures, in particular, information on the ethics of doing business across borders. The purpose of this paper is twofold: (1) to share the Islamic perspective on business ethics, little known in the west, which may stimulate further thinking and debate on the relationships between ethics and business, and (2) to provide some knowledge of Islamic philosophy in order to help managers do business in Muslim cultures. The case of Egypt illustrates some divergence between Islamic philosophy and practice in economic life. The paper concludes with managerial implications and suggestions for further research.     

Correction to: Developing Ethical Confidence: The Impact of Action-Oriented Ethics Instruction in an Accounting Curriculum

After the USSR collapsed, the Russian economy underwent serious changes from being plan-based to a market economy. These changes, together with political instability, created a business environment where no attention was paid to ethics. Russian managers have little experience operating in a market economy, which created many misunderstandings with foreign partners, especially regarding ethical issues of doing business. This study examined the factors influencing the ethical judgments of Russian employees to understand how they perceive ethical issues and make ethical or unethical decisions at work. The Ferrell and Gresham (J Mark 49:87–96, 1985) framework was employed in this study to understand the process of making ethical decision by an individual. Transparency was proposed as a moderator of the relationship between opportunity factors and employees’ ethical judgments. Findings of this study show that Russian employees tend to be more tolerant towards ethically questionable behaviors at a workplace. Moreover, the results also demonstrate that transparency moderates the influence of opportunity to behave unethically on ethical judgments.     

The Ukraine/Russia conflict: Geopolitical and international business strategies

The Ukraine and Russian conflict is one of the most pressing current global business issues. It has become a political and social issue that is influencing business practices around the world. While the topic is popular in the mainstream business press, there has been relatively little academic work on the topic. To address this gap, this article discusses the impact of the conflict on international business in terms of the perception by society about Ukrainian or Russian business activities. This means highlighting how a conflict can involve direct military intervention but also social interaction. This article reveals that there are many effects on global business stemming from the Ukraine–Russian conflict many of which are currently known, but others will be known in the future. Managerial implications are stated in the article that highlights the cultural and social impact of the crisis as well as future research suggestions for international business researchers that stress the importance of the conflict.     

A framework of successful organizational practices in Western multinational companies operating in Russia

Russian organizations have undergone significant changes since the 1990s. A new generation of Russian managers has come to the fore in Russia, who are eager to learn and open to Western knowledge. In turn, Western multinationals have also learned the fundamentals of doing business in Russia. How these developments are reflected in today's operations of Western multinationals in Russia remains – albeit with a few exceptions – largely unexplored in the academic literature. To address this gap, this paper explores what are the organizational practices and how do Western multinationals utilize them when striving to succeed in today's Russia. Based on two explorative case studies and 64 personal interviews with top and line managers it identifies four organizational practices, such as management training, corporate culture management, intercultural and linguistic training, and HRM practices, and two internalization mechanisms, such as boundary spanning, and reliance on local competence. The analysis elucidates important changes that have occurred in Western-Russian business relations and underscores important practical implications.     

Entrepreneurial Challenges in South Africa

ABSTRACT

This purpose of the research was to examine how entrepreneurs experience and deal with ethical dilemmas. In so doing, the author also uncovered some interesting aspects of entrepreneurial life in South Africa. This was a phenomenological study, based on interviews with seven entrepreneurs in established service-oriented ventures. For the purposes of this research, an entrepreneur was defined as a person who has created something of value and assumed the risk of establishing and managing a business around it. Each of the participating entrepreneurs was asked to describe their business, any dilemmas they've experienced, how they were handled, and what challenges they experience as an entrepreneur in South Africa today. This paper focuses on how entrepreneurs in South Africa view the challenges facing them. These include overcoming the legacies of apartheid, containing crime, fostering an acceptable business ethic, dealing with diversity, and facilitating reconciliation between ethnic groups.     

Russian Gas and Oil Giants Conquer Markets in the West

Abstract

Russian firms are not integrated to the global business world solely via investments from the West to the East but also through investments from Russia to other countries. This article proves that some significant Russian corporations have already taken root in Western economies, including the US market. The first wave of the Russian companies in the West increases the pressure to analyze them as potential partners or competitors. This article uses a REM model to describe the foreign operations of the two biggest Russian corporations, Gazprom and LUKoil. The fast-expanding activities of Russian firms abroad signify that a new era in international business has begun on the eve of this millennium.     

Ethical behavior perceptions in Russia: Do ethics-related programs and individual characteristics matter?

This paper aims to analyze how individual differences and ethics-related programs predict Russian business students and working adults' perception of personal business ethics. This research evaluates the business ethics perceptions based on surveys of 1,207 managers, employees, and business students in Russia. This study finds the significant correlations between individual differences (gender, age, education level, and management experience), ethics-related programs (business ethics courses taught in universities, ethics and diversity professional development training), and personal business ethics' perceptions of Russian business students and working adults. We also find that individual differences moderate the relationship between ethics-related programs and how the personal business ethics of Russian business students and working adults are perceived. These findings advance current literature by revealing that age moderates the relationship between ethics-related programs (formal ethic courses, ethics, and diversity trainings) and personal ethical behavior perceptions of working adults and business students in Russia. Our study found that gender had a significant positive moderating effect on relationship of organizational code of ethics, formal ethic courses, and diversity professional development with personal ethical behavior perceptions. The relation between personal ethical behavior perceptions and the presence of an organizational code of ethics was negative and marginally moderated by age and managerial experience. This study contributes to business ethics research by deepening the understanding of the impact of individual differences on the relationship between ethics-related programs and personal business ethics' perceptions.     

From exploiting to investing: A survey of us firms doing business in russia

US companies have been accused by the Russian media of flooding the Russian markets with their exports, repatriating their revenues or using them to buy Russian resources cheaply, and, as a result, increasing Russia's unemployment and decreasing its standard of living. Russia, argue many Russian experts interviewed in the past several years, is being badly exploited and its culture cheapened with Western candy, which in 1994 took $5 billion from consumers in Russia. On the other hand, US companies, which have been entering the Russian market in increasing numbers, argue that exporting products and services to Russia enhances the satisfaction of Russian consumers and contributes to the country's economy. They further say that as they become more familiar and comfortable with the Russian market, they change their strategies and increase their investment in Russia. Are US companies exploiting Russia or investing in its economic expansion? In this study the author investigated the entry strategies to Russia of 87 large US companies starting in 1989. These were randomly selected corporations, including a cross-section of consumer goods, industrial goods, computers, oil and gas, fast food, and consulting companies. What emerged was a captivating, historical drama, which changes rapidly from making money through exporting to Russia, to commitment through investment in plants and employment. For example, while the most popular entry doors to Russia have been exportlimport and joint ventures, most strategy changes since 1989 have been to wholly-owned subsidiaries, which usually require substantial investment. Yesterday's Snickers Bars exporter, Mars Candy, created a wholly-owned subsidiary, Masterfoods, and spent $70 million to build a chocolate and pet food factory that employs many Russians. In addition, a greater number of US companies entered the Russian market after the 1992 Yeltsin economic shock therapy and had a much needed stabilizing effect on the Russian economy. So, what may have been perceived as a one-sided relationship has been evolving to growth and mutual commitment. And as the Russian economy continues to grow, these companies will grow and prosper, too. Executives who are interested in the Russian market are advised that this market is real, growing, and worth considering. To enter and grow in this market, however, executives are cautioned that business deals in Russia must be structured in unfamiliar ways, and that they must employ local workers and respect Russia's culture and history. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Canadian business perspective on nafta

This article presents some of the major criticisms concerning Mexico's entry into the NAFTA. Then it addresses these criticisms from the Canadian business executives’ point of view using data gathered from those currently doing business and not currently doing business in Mexico. The major concerns, costs, and benefits to Canadian firms have been identified. Candid comments from the business executives are contrasted with those views frequently portrayed in the popular press.     

The Use of Secondary Data in Business Ethics Research

The relatively recent increase in empirical research conducted in business ethics has been accompanied by a growing literature which addresses its present shortcomings and continuing challenges. Particular attention has been focused on the difficulties of obtaining valid and reliable primary data. However, little or no attention has been paid to the use of secondary data. The aim of this paper is to stimulate the interest of business ethics researchers in using secondary data, either as a substitute or complement for primary data, bearing in mind both the benefits and shortcomings of doing so. It is suggested that secondary data not only offer advantages in terms of cost and effort, as conventionally described in research methods books, but also that in certain cases their use may overcome some of the difficulties that particularly afflict business ethics researchers in the gathering of primary data. In order to help business ethicists respond to this call for greater consideration of the potential offered by secondary data, the wide variety of forms that such data may take is indicated and a number of themes regarding their use discussed.     

跨文化商务谈判中应该注意的一些问题

随着中国对外合作关系的深入发展，中国公司面临的跨国谈判也在日益增加。由于跨国谈判的谈判方都是由来自不同国家和化背景的人组成的，在谈判过程中谈判各利益方就会不可避免地遇到许多单化谈判中不会遇到的挑战。这篇论从7个方面探讨了在跨国谈判中谈判利益方应该注意的一些问题．以推动谈判过程中双赢协议的达成。这7个方面包括谈判前的准备工作、谈判中的化问题以及谈判时的一些细节问题。