Exploring the ethical behavior of managers: A comparative study of four countries

Donaldson and Dunfee's (1994) social contracts theory of economic ethics was subjected to empirical scrutiny to determine whether it can explain differences in behavior between cultures. Data collected utilizing a series of vignettes developed by Fritzsche and Becker (1984) were examined for differences in indicated ethical behavior among American, Japanese, Korean and Taiwanese managers. Rationale for the behavior was classified according to hyper and community norms which were supported or violated. The results suggest that the three East Asian countries do not neatly cluster together in relation to the U.S. in terms of their patterns of ethical behavior. Nonetheless, when we examined the specific rationale for the decisions provided by the managers, the effects of Asian cultural characteristics became more notable. We also found that the social contracts theory provided a much needed bridge between ethical universalists and relativists. The specific reasons underlying their decisions are discussed in the light of cultural and social differences.This research project was partially supported by a research grant from the School of Business and Management, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.     

Will more liberal arts courses fix the accounting curriculum?

The appropriate curricular balance between general and accounting education has been long contested and needs resolving as evidence suggests the model used at most schools is broken. One suggested fix would devote more of the accounting curriculum to liberal arts courses to produce accountants who could, for example, think critically and communicate effectively. However, ample evidence indicates that classical “liberal education” scarcely exists today, and what is offered in its place is often counterproductive, at worst, or adds little value at best. This paper reviews the current state of liberal education and concludes that what is actually delivered today by many arts and sciences colleges does not achieve the claimed benefits of a liberal education. Thus it falls on accounting educators to structure courses in ways that will make them exercises in liberal learning. The paper also discusses several strategies for enhancing the value of the general education component of each student’s education.     

Effects of demographic factors on bank customers’ attitudes and intention toward Internet banking adoption in a major developing African country

This study provides an African perspective to the global research and literature on retail customer adoption of Internet banking (IB). It empirically examines the influence of seven demographic variables – age, gender, level of education, marital status, employment status, income level and area of residence – on retail banking customers’ behaviours toward IB adoption in a major developing African country – Nigeria. A sample of 500 customers was surveyed, and ANOVA and multiple regression analyses were used in testing the association of the variables with customer attitude and intention toward IB adoption. Although all seven variables were correlated with attitude and intention, only gender, level of education, and employment status showed significant ability to influence Nigerian customers’ attitude and intention toward IB adoption. The study therefore concludes that gender, level of education, and employment status are the major demographic affecters of Nigerian banking customers’ attitudes to IB adoption.     

Testing the interaction between concentration and barriers to entry

Various functional forms are employed to examine the independent and interactive effects of seller concentration and entry conditions on profitability. Significant interactive effects appear. There is also some evidence of a critical concentration ratio, which affects the slope of the concentration-profitability relationship.