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The Effects of Priming on Business Ethical Perceptions: A Comparison Between Two Cultures

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Abstract

The present study examines the effect of priming on business ethical decision making. Priming is based on the idea that our perceptions, actions, and emotions are distorted by unconscious cues from our environment. Subjects were primed for either “politeness” or “rudeness” using a sentence completion task. Following the priming, the subjects were asked to react to a series of ethical scenarios. The results showed that subjects primed for “rudeness” perceived the scenarios as less unethical than subjects primed for “politeness”. Similar results were observed in both the American and the Dominican samples. The results indicate that business ethical decision making is influenced by environmental factors we are unaware off.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Florida International University, Miami, FL, USA

    John Tsalikis

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  1. John Tsalikis
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Correspondence to John Tsalikis.

Exhibit 1: Questionnaire

Exhibit 1: Questionnaire

VERSION 1: AGGRESSION

Please circle four of the five words in order to make a complete sentence.

  • he aggressively spoke stared yesterday

  • She rude they acted always

  • bother often usually they her

  • yesterday disturbed she looked appeared

  • houses the thief intrudes apartments

  • he annoying acts always constantly

  • interrupts she always them sometimes

  • said threw audaciously she it

  • brazen was the display show

  • impolitely they dress behave always

  • laws he she infringes the

  • obnoxious he she is always

  • aggravating find they her we

  • bluntly they he spoke always

Please circle the level of ethicality for each given scenario. Rate according to your discretion

  1. 1.

    A businessman contacted an official of the US government. The government official demanded the payment of a large sum of money for his “help” in obtaining a government contract. This is:

    Unethical −5

    −4

    −3

    −2

    −1

    0

    +1

    +2

    +3

    +4

    +5 Ethical

    (all of the rest of the scenarios were followed by the above scale)

  2. 2.

    A retail grocery chain operates several stores throughout the local area including one in the city’s poor neighborhoods. The grocery chain charges higher prices in the poor neighborhoods. This is:

  3. 3.

    A car manufacturer, in order to save money, decided to use substandard brakes in the cars sold in Europe. This practice resulted in the serious injury of several people. This is:

  4. 4.

    An electronics company moved its production facility to Indonesia, knowing very well the wide spread practice of child labor in the country. This is:

  5. 5.

    A company promised in its ads a “full money back guarantee.” The company never really intended to keep this promise. This is:

  6. 6.

    A car dealer advertised a customer discount of $2000 on the purchase of a new car. Using an accounting trick the car dealer was able to remove the promised discount from the final price the customer paid. The customer unknowingly ended up paying $2000 more than he had to. This is:

  7. 7.

    An airline company declared bankruptcy in order to nullify the existing union contracts. This is:

  8. 8.

    A bank manager hired a member of his own family even though a more qualified person also had applied. This is:

  9. 9.

    An advertising company frequently uses weasel words like “best” and “advanced” because they increase sales. This is:

  10. 10.

    A retailer places candy next to the cashier in order for the kids to have easy access to the candy, resulting in higher sales. This is:

VERSION 2: POLITE

Please circle four of the five words in order to make a complete sentence

  • they showed respect always usual

  • behave we they always sensitively

  • considerate he was always is

  • they appreciate her we truly

  • patiently they wait work usually

  • he she treated cordially him

  • we yield in traffic they

  • polite he she always is

  • play children jump the cautiously

  • courteously the boys sit play

  • graciously he she dances always

  • students behaved acted discreetly the

  • behaved her cat pets always

  • her observed he watched unobtrusively

THE REMAINING QUESTIONNAIRE WAS THE SAME FOR ALL THREE VERSIONS

VERSION 3: NEUTRAL

Please circle four of the five words in order to make a complete sentence

  • we exercising usually they like

  • consistently she danced performed always

  • he talking likes running occasionally

  • they moved today rapidly worked

  • she sang he in tune

  • Grandma practiced baking knitting today

  • we always sometimes work out

  • climbed trees mountains she usually

  • we politics normally usually discuss

  • send me they flowers candies

  • watches he sports movies often

  • she always sometimes gives advise

  • he clears she the desk

  • prepares dinner Mom sometimes always

THE REMAINING QUESTIONNAIRE WAS THE SAME FOR ALL THREE VERSIONS

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Tsalikis, J. The Effects of Priming on Business Ethical Perceptions: A Comparison Between Two Cultures. J Bus Ethics 131, 567–575 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-014-2243-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-014-2243-3

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