Cultural variations and ethical business

decision making: a study of individualistic

and collective cultures
A. Ben Oumlil
Department of Marketing, Western Connecticut State University, Danbury, Connecticut, USA, and
Joseph L. Balloun
Tift College of Education, Mercer University, Atlanta, Georgia, USA

Abstract
Purpose – This study aims to examine the ethical beliefs and moral philosophical typologies, the relative effect of religiosity on personal ethical
beliefs and behavior of the collectivist and individualistic business executives.
Design/methodology/approach – This research assesses the relative impact of significant cultural factors on the business ethical decision-making
process in a Western and individualistic cultural context (the USA) in comparison to a non-Western and collective cultural context (Morocco). To
understand how cultural variations influence business ethical practices, this study adopts Hofstede’s cultural framework for comparison of business
executives’ ethical decisions within a cross-cultural context. Hypotheses are tested on survey data on 172 business executives.
Findings – Results show that most collective business executives are “Situationists”. The findings reveal a strong, positive relationship between
business managers’ religiosity and their idealism degrees. This study also reveals mixed findings in examining the correlation of religiosity with
various components of ethical intentions.
Research limitations/implications – The link between religiosity and ethical intentions needs to be viewed with caution. This calls for expanding
the scope of this study into other cultures and religions.
Practical implications – Differences of the findings in ethical typologies between collective and individualistic business executives may lead to
different negotiation styles on ethical business decisions and issues. Managers from a collective culture are not as likely to exhibit much change in
their initial ethical orientation(s). There is a strong positive relationship between a business manager’s religiosity and his/her degree of idealism.
Thus, the more religious business managers are, the more Absolutist they are when making ethical and moral judgments.
Originality/value – This research works to fill the gap by examining the impact of culture on the business/marketing ethical decision-making
processes within the contexts of a Western cultural and developed nation and a non-Western cultural, and developing/Mediterranean/North African
nation. The findings clarify the influence of culture on business ethical decisions. Such an understanding can assist corporate managers in developing
and successfully implementing business ethical codes that lead to enhanced moral conduct in their organizations.
Keywords Culture, Business ethics, Relativism, Collectivism, Idealism, Individualism, Ethical typologies, International ethics
Paper type Research paper

Introduction Business ethics, in general, and marketing ethics, in

Small, medium and large business organizations interact with
each society in which they function. Moreover, business firms
are influenced by the social, cultural and legal environment of
each nation and culture. As the global market expands,
societies and businesses are changing and facing ethical
challenges (corruption, unsustainable business practices, etc.).
Moreover, as more companies expand into overseas markets,
so does concern for ethical and socially responsible business
behavior. These business ethical questions and concerns
involve how the business views its role in the society(ies) where
it operates.
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on
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particular, have been the site of rising interest. This has led to
intensified research efforts in the area of business ethics,
especially in the area of marketing. However, a review of the
literature reveals that there is a call for more theoretical and
empirical cross-cultural investigations of moral principles
within businesses (Husted and Allen, 2008).
Up to this point, most research has focused on establishing
differences in marketplaces. Researchers still need to address
exactly what those differences are, and how they impact
businesses. Thus, there is a need to understand how business
managers address ethical issues in their professional
decision-making processes within different cultural contexts
(Moon and Woolliams, 2000).
Many business ethics theory researchers believe culture is
one of the main factors influencing ethical decisions (Saunders
and Lockridge, 2010; Forsyth et al., 2008; Ferrell and
Gresham, 1985; Ferrell et al., 1989; Hunt and Vitell, 1986).

Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing

32/7 (2017) 889 –900
© Emerald Publishing Limited [ISSN 0885-8624] Received 25 August 2016
[DOI 10.1108/JBIM-08-2016-0194] Accepted 2 March 2017

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 Cultural variations and ethical business
A. Ben Oumlil and Joseph L. Balloun
Furthermore, all three of the referenced theoretical decision
models consider culture as the underlying force in the ethical
decision-making process (Ferrell and Gresham, 1985; Hunt
and Vitell, 1986, 1993). While a number of studies have been
performed, additional insights into the impact of culture on
international business ethical practices is needed. This
requires expanded research into how cultural similarities and
differences influence business ethical practices.
As stated, a number of studies have examined the influence
of culture on business ethics; however, the majority of these
studies were limited to a Western context (typically the USA)
business environment. Owing to early historical patterns of
migration to the USA from Northwestern European origins
(i.e. British Isles and Amsterdam), the USA is, for the most
part, culturally patterned after Northwestern European
countries. Recognizing the impact that culture has on ethical
decision-making processes, focusing mainly on a Western
context (typically the USA) business environment likely offers
a partial understanding of business ethics. It is important to
note that these models and frameworks suffer from an
individualistic bias (Gergen, 1999; Husted and Allen, 2008).
However, the analyses from a collective culture perspective
may lead to different results and outcomes (Husted and Allen,
2008). Additionally, this Western framing preference may lead
to an incomplete understanding of marketing/business
practices outside the USA and Western Europe (Okazaki and
Mueller, 2007). While there has some interest among scholars
in the cross-cultural aspects of marketing business ethical
decisions, efforts mainly have been confined to Asian
countries and cultures. The reviewed literature has also
revealed that only a handful of studies focus on the countries
and cultures of the Mediterranean region, with even less
focusing on non-Western and North African country cultures.
Additionally, research studies argue for the existence of
common reactions to ethical situations and concepts that all
individuals within a region share (Lloyd and Trompenaars,
1993; Ergeneli, 2005). Hofstede (2001) has described most
Mediterranean region countries, including Morocco, by
cultural characteristic similarities. These characteristics were
also reported by Rawwas et al. (2005) in reference to Turkey
as a Mediterranean region country. Forsyth et al. (2008)
focused on how cultures compare in terms of overall ethical
orientations and drew a broad distinction between Eastern,
Middle Eastern and Western cultures. In a comparison of the
well-documented individualism of Western societies, relative
to the East, they revealed that the countries in this region
would demonstrate less idealistic moral philosophies, and the
Eastern (collective) nations would be more relativistic than
Western ones. Idealism was waxed in Middle Eastern
societies. As a result, a study of a Mediterranean and North
African country (Morocco) in comparison with a Western
Country (the USA) will be conducive toward making
connections with other countries that have similar regional
and cultural characteristics.
By limiting examination to a Western cultural context,
previous studies have not taken into account the regional
dimensions of culture. In the spirit of filling an existing need in
business ethics literature, this study assesses the relative
impact of significant cultural factors on business ethical
decision-making processes in a Western, individualistic
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culture and developed country context (the USA), as well as in
an emerging market, non-Western, collective culture and
Mediterranean country context (Morocco). Specifically, this
research investigates the ethical perceptions, religiosity,
personal moral philosophies and ethical intentions of the USA
and Moroccan business executives. Moreover, the aim is the
established belief that the selected countries (Morocco and the
USA) may serve as examples of other Mediterranean/North
African, and North countries and cultures. This has been
confirmed by research studies Ergeneli (2005) that argue for
the existence of common reactions to business/marketing
activities situations concepts that are shared by all individuals
within a region. This is supported by Hofstede who described
most region countries by similar cultural characteristics
(Hofstede, 2001).
Besides making a theoretical contribution, this study has
important managerial implications and societal relevance.
From a managerial perspective, understanding country and
cultural context and differences contribute to the success of
organizations’ overseas operations. This understanding helps
show how marketing managers from different national
backgrounds can apply a moral philosophy framework (i.e.
idealism, relativism framework and rules), and identify the
reasons for differences in the degree of its application.
Specifically, acquiring this type of understanding can assist
business marketing managers (i.e. US business managers in
this study) to be more in-tune with the realities of their
international (i.e. Morocco) business environment.
Furthermore, the study will provide US and other Western
business managers with a deeper insight into the underlying
moral philosophies and orientations of their international
business counterparts in their assessment of ethical decisions
and actions. This understanding of the international context
may be useful to US and other Western business and
corporate leaders in the development of training programs for
corporate personnel who work in overseas business
operations. Such knowledge can assist corporate managers in
developing and successfully implementing business ethical
codes that will lead to enhanced moral conduct in their
organizations.
The Moroccan market is progressive and open, as
evidenced by the country’s early accession to the World Trade
Organization, the signing of the FTA with the USA and the
European Union Association Agreement. These initiatives
toward market openness and trade liberalization make the
collectivistic (Moroccan) market an attractive destination for
direct foreign investments by international firms from around
the globe. They also make it imperative for firms to
understand the ethical perceptions, religiosity, personal moral
philosophies, and ethical intentions of collectivistic and
individualistic business managers to effectively and efficiently
conduct business in this important and emerging market.
Public policymakers and researchers may also benefit from
this study by understanding the external validity and the
degree of ethnocentrism of their code of ethics and the
universal code. Cunningham and Green (1984) encourage
research to distinguish ethical codes that are universal from
those who apply to only one culture. Viewing ethical
approaches side-by-side helps determine what standards of
behavior are considered ethical (Velasquez et al., 2009;
 Cultural variations and ethical business
A. Ben Oumlil and Joseph L. Balloun
Forsyth et al., 2008). Other scholars also ask for further
research to provide support (or refute) the possibility that
ethical codes are global (Rallapalli, 1999; Hunt and Vitell,
1986; Donoho et al., 2001; Huberman-Arnold and Arnold,
2003; Ralston et al., 2014).
This study answers two critical research questions:
RQ1. Defining how these important factors (i.e. cross-cultural
differences) impact the ethical decision-making process in
a cross-cultural setting.
RQ2. Concluding how their influences vary in a cross-cultural
context (Western and individualistic cultural context in
comparison to non-Western and collective cultural
context).
The remaining sections of the paper review the literature
dealing with business ethics and its relation to culture, ethical
ideology, religiosity, personal moral philosophies, and ethical
intentions and tactics, present research hypotheses, describe
the research methodology, present the results and discussion
and discuss managerial implications.
Theoretical background
The theory of culture and cultural dimensions
comparison
International business managers slowly are becoming aware of
how significant culture is in explaining why there are
differences in business decision-making processes. In the past,
culture was viewed as an intangible and non-quantified
concept (de Mooij, 2004). Currently, few frameworks exist
that assist in structuring cultural differences. Hofstede’s
model permits a quantified description of cultural differences.
Hofstede’s dimensions are often used as independent variables
for cross-cultural comparative studies, and have led to useful
descriptions of cross-cultural differences in marketing and
business fields. They serve as a conceptual framework to
classify and explain the impact of culture on various research
topics (de Mooij, 2015; de Mooij, 2004; Soares and
Farhangmehr, 2007; Husted and Allen, 2008; Ralston et al.,
2014). This model is adopted for this study to examine ethical
business orientations influenced by culture. Hofstede (2001,
p. 9) defines “culture as the collective programming of the
mind that distinguishes the members of one group or category
of people from another”. He describes culture using four
dimensions: Individualism versus Collectivism; Masculinity
versus Femininity; Large or Small Power Distance; and
Strong or Weak Uncertainly Avoidance.
Hofstede’s typology shows that nations can be identified in
terms of these cultural dimensions. For example, he has
placed the USA, along with other Anglo nations in the small
Power Distance (PDI) and weak uncertainty avoidance
(UAV) quadrant. Individuals belonging to such cultures tend
to take personal risks, use common sense and place little faith
in authority figures (Hofstede, 2001, p. 107). Conversely,
Morocco, as a Mediterranean/North African nation, exhibits
both large PDI and strong UAV. Citizens tend to be
hard-working, obedient and yield to the opinions and
directives held by supervisors. Individuals from countries with
larger power distance, such as Morocco, are more likely to
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accept inequality in power and authority than those from
countries with a smaller power distance, like the USA.
Hofstede (2001) also places the USA and Morocco on
opposite cultural dimensions for the Individualism Index
(IDV). Individualistic cultures, such as the USA, are more
concerned with their own interests. Collectivist cultures, such
as Morocco, belong to an in-group like an extended family
from whom they cannot detach from. According to Hofstede
(2001), individuals in feminine societies such as Morocco, are
strong in UAV, place a high value on interpersonal
relationships, are emotional, security-seeking and intolerant.
Masculine cultures, such as the USA, are weak in UAV, place
a high value on material success, have patience, accept risk
and are less emotional than those in high UAV cultures.
The literature shows that individualism and collectivism are
especially relevant to questions related to how individuals work
and, therefore, also related to a number of questions regarding
business ethics (Ralston et al., 2014; Husted and Allen, 2008;
Erez and Earley, 1993). Triandis and Bhawuk (1997) argue that
deviations from group norms are far less tolerated in collective
cultures in comparison to individualistic cultures. According to
Nyaw and Ng (1994), in individualistic cultures, managers and
decision-makers are more likely to consider business practices
(e.g. employee’s layoff) that harm the maintenance of
harmonious relationships within the organization as merely a
business decision. However, in collective cultures,
decision-makers would probably view such business practice as
falling within the moral domain. Thus, individualism and
collectivism do influence the decision-maker’s inclusion of a
business practice within the moral domain (Ralston et al.,
2014; Husted and Allen, 2008; Erez and Earley, 1993). In
addition, ethical business decision-making processes are
affected by individualism and collectivism because of the fact
that these cultural dimensions deal with beliefs regarding the
priority of individual vis-à-vis group interests and welfare
(Ralston et al., 2014; Husted and Allen, 2008; Triandis, 2006;
Oyserman et al., 2002).
Keeping these cultural typologies in mind, this research
study looks at the responses of business managers from
Morocco (collective culture) and the USA (individualistic
culture) on various ethical dimensions, and examines the
judgments made on the basis of ethical scenarios. A theoretical
study by Vitell et al. (1993) indicates that Hofstede’s typology
does apply to studying the link between ethical standpoint and
cultural background. Additionally, research studies provided
support regarding the impact of cultural typologies on the
ethical decision-making of individuals and managers (Ralston
et al., 2014; Husted and Allen, 2008).
Moral principles
The literature review calls for more theoretical and empirical
cross-cultural investigation of moral principles in the business
field. As more and more companies are expanding into
international markets, problems related to cross-national
ethics and social responsibility are becoming increasingly
prevalent.
Studies have been conducted to compare marketing
professionals with consumers on important determinants of
the ethical decision-making process, personal moral
philosophies and ethical perceptions in marketing situations.
 Cultural variations and ethical business
A. Ben Oumlil and Joseph L. Balloun
They have noticed gaps between marketers and consumers
and the implications of these gaps in understanding ethics
(Singhapakdi and Vitell, 1999; Singhapakdi, 1999).
Additional research has examined the interaction effects of
Machiavellianism and an organization’s ethical culture on the
perceptual components of a marketer, as well as the relative
influences of personal values on basic dimensions of
marketers’ personal moral philosophies (Singhapakdi, 1993;
Singhapakdi and Vitell, 1993). In another study, Marks and
Mayo (1991) introduced the concept of consumer ethical
concerns. Hunt and Vitell’s (1986) general theory of
marketing ethics was used to describe how consumers might
resolve their ethical dilemmas. The research findings indicated
that consumers do encounter ethical situations and that this
model captures some of the decision-making processes that
consumers use.
A cross-cultural study of moral philosophies of marketing
managers in the US, Australian and Malaysian cultures was
conducted by Karande et al. (2002). Results indicate that
there were differences in the level of idealism and relativism
exhibited by marketers from these three countries.
Singhapakdi et al. (1995) compared the ethical values of Thai
and US marketers. The findings indicate that US marketers
are significantly different from Thai marketers based on the
combination of professional and personal values. Specifically,
US marketers tend to place more importance on the values of
“fun and enjoyment in life”, “self-fulfillment”, “self-respect”
and “a sense of accomplishment” than Thai marketers. In a
study, Singhapakdi et al. (1999) compared the ethical
ideologies of idealism and relativism of US marketers with
their South African counterparts. The results of the study
indicated that South Africans were more idealistic and less
relativistic than their US counterparts. Additionally, the
results showed that South African marketers were more likely
to perceive ethical problems than US marketers. Ralston et al.
(2014) conducted a 48-nation research study. They tested the
utility of both the societal-level and individual-level
dimensions of collectivism and individualism values for
predicting ethical behavioral orientations of business
professionals. The results showed that the values at the
individual-level are better predictors (i.e. make a more
significant contribution) to explaining variance in ethical
behavioral orientations of business professionals than do
societal-level values. Similar findings were reported in another
study by Taras et al. (2010).
Ethical grouping
Forsyth (1992) and Forsyth et al. (2008) used both idealism
and relativism to classify people into four different
ethical groups: Absolutists, Subjectivists, Exceptionists and
Situationists. Absolutists are individuals with low relativism
and high idealism. They believe that their actions are moral
only if they yield positive consequences through conformity to
moral absolutes. Absolutists believe that deception is always
wrong because it violates fundamental moral principles.
Subjectivists are individuals with high relativism and low
idealism. Subjectivists reject moral rules. They base their
moral judgments on personal feelings about their actions.
Exceptionists are individuals with low relativism and low
idealism. They believe that conformity to moral rules is
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desirable, but that exceptions are permissible. Situationists are
individuals with high relativism and high idealism.
Situationists judge ethics by the consequences of the situation.
According to Forsyth (1992, p. 462), Situationists “eschew
universal moral principles but still insist that one should
produce positive consequences that benefit all involved”.
Most Situationists are utilitarian, believing that an act is right
only if it produces a greater balance of positive consequences
than available alternatives. The survey uses this theoretical
background to examine differences in ethical reasoning types
among Moroccan (collective) and US (individualistic)
managers.
Role of religiosity in ethics
Research studies have reported that individual and social
factors influence moral judgments of people (Hart and Brady,
2005). These factors can include religiosity, personality and
social interactions (Kurpis et al., 2008). A focus in this study
is religiosity. Based on the reviewed literature, religiosity is
defined as the practice of religion to a certain degree (Vitell
et al., 2009; Allport and Ross, 1967). Moreover, we follow
similar approaches adopted in the literature that suggests the
terms of “religiousness” and “religiosity” have the same
definition (Singhapakdi et al., 2000b).
The role of religiosity in the context of business has received
increased research interest (Vitell, 2009; Vitell and Paolillo,
2003; Zulfikar, 2012; Tsalikis and Lassar, 2009; Rashid and
Ibrahim, 2008; Bloodgood et al., 2008; Rice, 1999).
Furthermore, evidence demonstrated that religious beliefs
influence behavior orientations of individuals and managers
through knowing to distinguish between right and wrong
(Vitell, 2009; Magill, 1992). As a result, there has been a call
for further research effort for further examination of such
influence, mainly from a cross-cultural perspective (Vitell,
2009; Vitell and Paolillo, 2003; Arli and Tjiptono, 2014).
Study objectives
As previously stated, most research studies on business ethics
have focused on the West, mainly the USA. Thus, there is a
need for international/cross-cultural research. This study
attempts to assess cultural/county differences or similarities on
ethical issues within the business context of an individualistic
and Western society (the USA) and a collective and
non-Western society (Morocco).
Theoretical works in the reviewed marketing/business ethics
literature indicate that business managers’ perceptions of
ethical issues may be influenced by personal characteristics
(e.g. gender and education) (Kujala and Pietilainen, 2004;
Lopez et al., 2005; Oumlil and Balloun, 2009), situational
factors (e.g. organizational ethical cultural orientations and
culture/nationality) (Armstrong and Sweeney, 1994; Soares
and Farhangmerh, 2007; Franke and Nadler, 2008) and
attitudes toward ethics and social responsibility within a
context (i.e. a component) of business decisions literature
(Chandler and Graham, 2010). However, most business and
marketing ethical models were developed for the US market.
As stated, given the recognized effect of culture on the ethical
business decision-making process, this Western framing
preference may lead to an incomplete understanding and bias
 Cultural variations and ethical business
A. Ben Oumlil and Joseph L. Balloun
within the business/marketing ethical decision-making process
outside the USA.
Research studies have demonstrated that culture is
dependent on environment and region. For example,
Hofstede (1980, p. 19) stated that culture is “an interactive
aggregate of common characteristics that influenced a group’s
response to its environment”. This has been documented by
studies that argue for the existence of common reactions to
ethical conditions and beliefs that are shared by all citizens
within a region (Ergeneli, 2005; Trompenaars, 1993). This
also is shared by Hofstede (2001) who argued that most
Mediterranean nations, including Morocco, could be
considered culturally similar. Rawwas et al. (2005) reported
similar cultural characteristics regarding Turkey, as a
Mediterranean region country.
In light of these realities, the critical question cross-cultural
business/marketing ethics research must address for executives
is not only whether there are differences in cultural/national
marketplaces, but exactly what those differences are and
how they affect business/marketing ethical business
making-decision processes (Singhapakdi et al., 2001a; Oumlil
and Balloun, 2009). This will fill the gap and provide a better
understanding for how business executives should handle
ethical issues within different cultural settings. Current
cross-cultural ethics research has focused on Asian countries/
cultures. Based on the surveyed literature, there has been little
research focus on the countries/culture of the Mediterranean
region with even less focus on a non-Western and
Mediterranean/North African nation/culture. This research
works to fill the gap by examining the impact of culture on the
business/marketing ethical decision-making processes within
the contexts of a Western cultural and developed nation (the
USA) and a non-Western cultural, Mediterranean/North
African and developing nation (Morocco).
This study helps organizations interested in conducting
business within collective societies with large PDI and strong
UAV cultural dimensions test the external validity of their
code of ethics, and the extent to which individual ethical
values facilitate or impede the universal application of a firm’s
ethical code. Scholars have emphasized that there is a critical
need for future research to compare collective vs
individualistic cultures regarding ethical decision-making
(Vitell and Paolillo, 2003; Husted and Allen, 2008). This
study examines collective (i.e. Moroccan) and individualistic
(i.e. the USA) executives’ preferred ethical ideology, religious
orientations and their perception of ethical (or unethical) as
independent variables, with intentions and tactics as
dependent variables, within the Western (the USA) and
non-Western cultures, specifically Mediterranean/North
African (Morocco). The motivation of this research objective
is the idea that Morocco may serve as an example of other
collective and Mediterranean/North African nations.
Research hypotheses
Morality: idealism vs relativism and ethical
taxonomies
Forsyth et al. (2008) and Forsyth (1992) argued that two basic
dimensions of personal moral philosophies (relativism and
idealism) can impact business ethical decisions. Since
Moroccan culture is stronger in UAV and larger in PDI (and
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Volume 32 · Number 7 · 2017 · 889 –900
more collective) than US culture, Moroccan culture places
more significance on codes of behavior. Based on cultural
dimensions, the following hypotheses are made:
H1a. In collective culture, business managers will report a
stronger idealistic ethical orientation than their
counterparts from individualistic culture.
H1b. In individualistic culture, business managers will report
a stronger relativistic ethical orientation than their
counterparts from collective culture.
Forsyth (1992) used both idealism and relativism to further
classify people into four distinct ethical groups (i.e.
Absolutists, Subjectivists, Exceptionists and Situationists).
Keeping these ethical typologies in mind within the context of
the two cultures under consideration, the current study
examines the following research hypothesis:
H1c. There is a significant difference between business
managers from collective and individualistic cultures in
their ethical reasoning typologies (or groups).
Religious implications and morality
Freedom of religion is practiced in both the USA and
Morocco. Because of this emphasis on co-existence,
Christianity, Judaism and Islam are practiced in both
countries. According to Hunt and Vitell (1986, 1993) model,
religiosity influences an individual’s ethical beliefs in a positive
manner. This is to the fact that religiosity is a key personal
characteristic (Vitell and Paolillo, 2003). (For further
discussion on the role of religiosity and its significance to
ethics and social responsibility, see e.g. Singhapakdi et al.,
2000b; Vitell and Paolillo, 2003; Vitell, 2009). The present
study will assess the relationship between business managers’
religiosity (i.e. three dimensions of religiosity) and their moral
philosophies (i.e. idealism and relativism) in a culture with
strong idealism (i.e. Morocco) vis-à-vis a culture with strong
relativism (i.e. the USA). In accordance with the existing
literature, the dimensions of religiosity, which refers to the
frequency of attendance in a religious house of worship (i.e. an
action), may have different impacts from the two dimensions
that refer to religious faith (belief) (Singhapakdi et al., 2000b):
H2a. There is a positive association between business
managers’ religiosity and idealism in a collective
culture.
H2b. There is a negative association between business
managers’ religiosity and relativism in an individualistic
culture.
The comprehensive theoretical ethical decision models for
marketing and business decisions (Ferrell and Gresham,
1985; Hunt and Vitell, 1986) indicate a relationship between
cultural environment, including religion and perceptions.
Hunt and Vitell (1986) stated that personal experiences,
organizational norms and cultural norms along with religion
influence the ethical decision-making process. Bartels (1967)
reported that religion is an integrated part of the ethical
decision-making process. This proposition also concurs with
Vitell and Paolillo (2003) and Rallapalli’s (1994) assumption
 Cultural variations and ethical business
A. Ben Oumlil and Joseph L. Balloun
that there is a relationship between religion and morality.
Based on the reviewed literature, the following hypothesis can
be proposed:
H3. There is a significant difference between collective and
individualistic business managers in the interaction of
religiosity and ethical intention.
Methodology
Measures
A survey was administered to corporate managers, based upon
the Ethics Position Questionnaire (EPQ), developed by
Forsyth (1980). Translation was not needed in Morocco
because the business executives who were attending the
university were fluent in English (i.e. as in the USA, course
instructions were in the English language). The same English
version of this instrument was also used in the USA. The EPQ
consists of scales to measure idealism and relativism. Separate
scales were used for each dimension. Each dimension
(idealism and relativism) contained ten ethical statements,
which were operationalized on a nine-point Likert scale.
Scoring high on the idealism scale means an absolute moral
inclination by a respondent. Scoring high on relativism means
a rejection of universal morality. In this study, the idealism
scale had a coefficient alpha of 0.83, and the alpha reliability
of the relativism scale was 0.76.
Four scenarios dealing with the interactions between
consumers and marketers were presented, followed by a series
of questions to evaluate opinions regarding the scenarios and
the ethical actions given. These scenarios were developed by
Dornoff and Tankersley (1975) and Reidenbach et al. (1991).
The scenarios used in the present study went under the
descriptions of “Misleading the Appraiser”, “Over-Eager
Salesperson”, “Withholding Information” and “Failure to
Honor a Warranty”. The use of the scenarios is well
documented in the literature as suitable and commonly used
in business ethics studies at domestic and cross-nations/
cultural levels (see e.g. Ergeneli and Arikan, 2002; Mohr and
Webb, 2005; Miller and Thomas, 2005; Hudson and Miller,
2005; Hunt and Vitell, 1986; Singhapakdi and Vitell, 1991;
Singhapakdi et al., 2001a; Donoho et al., 2001; Schwepker
and Schultz, 2013).
In the present study, the four marketing ethics situations
were used to determine perceived problems and judgment.
The scenarios represent various areas of marketing/business
such as sales management, retailing and advertising. They
were operationalized using a nine-point agreement scale
ranging from 1 (“Completely Disagree”) to 9 (“Completely
Agree”). For the ethical perceptions construct, a high score on
the statement, “The situation above involves an ethical
problem”, indicates that the ethical situation described
presents an ethical issue for the respondent. A higher
numerical score on the ethical intentions constructs the
statement, “I would act in the same manner as the (business
person) did in the above scenario”. This indicates less ethical
intentions by the respondent. The assumption of a standard
that exists in the human mind and determines such action as
right or wrong is based on the social nature of business ethics
(see Lewis, 1985). The ethical perceptions and intentions
measurement approach is comparable to the format used in
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Volume 32 · Number 7 · 2017 · 889 –900
previous studies on business ethics (Singhapakdi et al., 2001a;
Schwepker and Schultz, 2013; Schwepker and Good, 2013).
Sample
The study sample is compiled of business managers in MBA
programs from two private universities in Morocco and the
USA. There were 172 usable responses: 93 from the USA and
79 from Morocco. Women comprised 29 Moroccan
respondents and 64 of the USA.
Unlike many studies (Andrews, 1989) that focus on
comparing business managers/students’ thoughts, great efforts
were made to include only students from private universities
(i.e. not to have a mix of samples from private and public
universities). Study samples were MBA students with business
management experiences. They were chosen for their
familiarity with the subject matter under consideration (i.e.
business ethical issues and social responsibility). This was
done to assure sample equivalence between the two samples in
this study (i.e. to use matched samples, similar in all aspects
except nationality). Furthermore, research fulfills Ferber’s
(1977) two conditions under which student sample
is considered a valid approach. These two conditions are as
follows:
1 if the research study is exploratory in nature; and
2 if the items on the scale are pertinent to the participants.
It is exploratory in nature because it is one of the first research
efforts to identify the underlying structures of ethical beliefs
and intentions in two different cultures (i.e. individualistic and
collective cultures). As participants were business managers,
the scale’s items concerning business ethical decisions are
pertinent. A similar approach also was used in another study
of business ethics (Singhapakdi et al., 2000a). This study is an
extension of the studies by Singhapakdi et al. (2000a),
Karande et al. (2002), Hunt et al. (1989), Oumlil and Balloun
(2009) and Singhapakdi et al. (1996), within the
individualistic and collectivistic cultures managers’ context.
The search instrument was implemented in the English
language regarding the two samples. The Moroccan university
under consideration uses English as the language of pedagogy
and curriculum modeled after the US university system.
Additionally, English is a well-understood language,
particularly in the business milieu. Moreover, students from
the two institutions of higher education participate in an
established academic exchange program between the two
universities. Participants from Morocco are fluent in English,
and fully immersed in US university culture. This is consistent
with the method (i.e. survey administration in English in
different nations/samples) used in Singhapakdi et al. (2001a),
Ekin and Tezolmez (1999) and Vitell et al. (2003).
Results
Measures
The scale measurements in this study were adopted from
previous studies. Table I shows the scale characteristics and
reliabilities for the complete sample of participants. Table I
also exhibits the reliabilities of the perception and intention
rating items, and the scales are also presented there. It was
important to note that there was a possible exception of the
 Cultural variations and ethical business Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing
A. Ben Oumlil and Joseph L. Balloun Volume 32 · Number 7 · 2017 · 889 –900

Table I Reliabilities of variables and scales business executives scored significantly higher on the idealism
Scale or variable Reliability a,b
Mean Median SD moral philosophy dimension than the individualistic (the
USA) executives did. This indicates that managers and
ns
Intention 1 0.85 8.04 8.44 1.52 citizens from a culture characterized by strong UAV,
Intention 2 0.93ⴱⴱ 6.12 6.34 2.21 collectivism and low masculinity (e.g. Morocco) tend to
Intention 3 0.94ⴱⴱ 5.09 5.13 2.63 encourage more cooperation (i.e. less competition), more
Intention 4 0.98ⴱⴱ 7.23 7.86 2.20 affiliation and more respect of others (Hofstede, 2001). The
Perception 1 0.91ⴱⴱ 2.45 1.69 2.17 findings of this exploratory study confirm the existing belief in
Perception 2 0.93ⴱⴱ 3.66 3.32 2.37 the theory of cultural values and idealism, as ethical moral
Perception 3 0.92ⴱⴱ 5.02 5.20 2.67 philosophies (Rawwas et al., 2005; Husted and Allen, 2008)
Perception 4 0.87ⴱ 2.53 1.64 2.39 and the theory of cultural values (e.g. collectivism) and the
Relativism 0.76ⴱⴱ 5.47 5.72 1.25 socialization process of children (Esmer, 1999 [as reported in
Idealism 0.83ⴱⴱ 6.39 6.45 1.20 Rawwas et al., 2005]).
Religiosity 0.57ⴱⴱ 5.31 5.49 1.84 The mean relativism scores of the Moroccan and US
Socially responsible respondents were, respectively, 5.69 and 5.28. This difference
attitudes 0.62ⴱⴱ 6.14 6.26 1.48 was in the reverse direction than was hypothesized, and the
F1 Social responsibility data did not support the hypothesized relationship, H1b,
and profitability 0.69ⴱⴱ 7.02 7.10 1.45 between culture/country and relativism scores. Contrary to
F2 long term 0.73ⴱⴱ 6.87 7.13 1.30 expectations, individualistic (US) managers do not tend to
F3 short term 0.66ⴱⴱ 3.89 3.88 1.72 score higher on relativism than collective (Moroccan)
managers. Similar findings are consistent with other research
Notes: ⴱ p ⱕ 0.05; ⴱⴱ p ⱕ 0.01; a The reliabilities for the intention and
perception rating items for each of the scenarios were computed as studies in the attempt to assess the validity of the theory of
their squared sample multiple correlations with the other variables in cultural values and relativism, as ethical moral philosophies
the study. This gives a lower bound to their reliabilities. Their (Rawwas et al., 2005).
significances were computed by the SPSS multiple regression
algorithm; b Cronbach alpha reliabilities are shown for the other scales. Ethical typologies
The significances of the Cronbach alphas were computed by the method To gain a better understanding of the various types of ethical
of Feldt et al. (1987) ideologies of collective (Moroccan) and individualistic (US)
business managers, we classified the sample into four groups
using the median points of the idealism (median ⫽ 6.45) and
implied ethical intention rating item for the first scenario, but relativism (median ⫽ 5.70) EPQ scales.
the estimated reliabilities were greater than zero. Past research studies (Forsyth et al., 2008; Vitell et al., 1991;
A few of the scale reliabilities are lower than Nunnally’s Rawwas, 1996) used this scheme to classify respondents. The
(1978) recommended minimum rule of thumb of 0.70. On the percentages of the Situationists, Absolutists, Subjectivists and
other hand, the Cronbach alpha reliabilities are statistically Exceptionists among collective (Moroccan) business
greater than zero at the 0.05 level (Feldt et al., 1987). The executives were respectively 51, 20, 10 and 19 per cent. The
lower reliabilities of some scales perceive that some Situationists, absolutists, subjectivists and Exceptionists
correlations among variables will be underestimated (Charles, among the individualistic (USA) business executives were,
2005). respectively, 19, 17, 26 and 38 per cent. Thus, the majority of
The low reliability level of the Wilkes et al. (1986) religiosity the collective business managers were Situationists, and the
scale adopted in this research could possibly be due to the pluralities of the individualistic business managers were
multicultural nature of the research setting. Exceptionists. The country/culture difference in distribution
among the ethical reasoning types was statistically significant
Morality: idealism vs relativism by the chi-square test with p ⬍ 0.001. Thus, H1c is generally
The mean idealism scores of the 79 Moroccan and 93 US supported (Table II).
respondents were, respectively, 6.91 and 5.96. This is a
significant difference by the t-test; t ⫽ 5.66, p ⱕ 0.001. H1a Religious implications and morality
that collective business managers are more idealistic than The Pearson correlation of religiosity with idealism was 0.40
individualistic business managers is supported by these data. (p ⱕ 0.01); this supports H2a and its positive relationship of
The Mann–Whitney U test confirms this result. While the two religiosity with idealism. This indicates that a more highly
samples scored high on idealism, the collective (Moroccan) religious business manager will demonstrate a greater

Table II Ethical taxonomies: country by ethical typologies

Fourgroup
Country Situationist Absolutist Subjectivist Exceptionist Total
1.00 Morocco 40 16 8 15 79
2.00 The USA 18 16 24 36 94
Total 58 32 32 51 173
Notes: ␹2 ⫽ 23.87; p ⱕ 0.001

895
 Cultural variations and ethical business
A. Ben Oumlil and Joseph L. Balloun
tendency toward moral absolutes when making moral
decisions. These findings are in support of similar results
reported in Singhapakdi et al.’s (2000b) and Vitell and
Paolillo’s (2003) studies.
The correlation of religiosity with relativism was ⫺0.14,
which is not significantly different from zero at the 0.05 level.
The data did not support H2b that relativism is negatively
related to religiosity.
The alternative or scientific hypothesis, H3, was that the
relationship of religiosity to ethical intention and actions
regarding the scenarios would differ by country/culture. This
hypothesis was tested by two-way analysis of variance. The
main effects because of country and religiosity and the square
of the religiosity scale score were entered into the model first.
Thus, there were three degrees of freedom for the main effects.
Then, the additional contribution of the interaction effect
between country and religiosity was tested by the increment in
the sample R2 attributable to the interaction effect. There
were two degrees of freedom for the possible interaction effect.
Table III summarizes the results of these analyses for the four
scenarios. The sample data show little or no association
between the country by religiosity interaction and ethical
intentions. The interaction effect is statistically significant only
for the fourth scenario. Thus, overall, H3 is not supported.
These negative results also confirm similar findings in the
existing literature (Singhapakdi et al., 2000b; Vitell and
Paolillo, 2003).
Discussion
As the global market widens and more companies expand into
overseas markets, so does concern for ethical and socially
responsible business behavior. Furthermore, as businesses
expand their operations overseas and to other cultures, they
seek to establish guideposts for making the appropriate ethical
decisions and actions in the cross-cultural and international
business environment. Business ethics are often about
identifying, comprehending and respecting the differences,
while being able to discover the appropriate ethical approach
which transcends cultural boundaries (Morrison, 2015). In
this spirit, our study was implemented to augment our
understanding and to provide more insights into
cross-countries business ethics’ similarities and differences.
Specifically, this research study examines the following:
● the ethical beliefs of the collective (i.e. Moroccan) business
managers and the individualistic (i.e. US) business
managers;
● the personal ethical beliefs and moral philosophies’
typologies of the collective (Moroccan) and individualistic
(US) managers;
Table III Analyses of variance: ethical intentions and religiosity
Increment in R2
Main effects’ due to Support for
Scenario sample R2 interaction scientific H3?
1 0.11ⴱⴱ 0.02 No
2 0.05ⴱ 0.03 No
3 0.02 0.01 No
4 0.14ⴱⴱ 0.03ⴱ Yes
Notes: ⴱ p ⱕ 0.05; ⴱⴱ
p ⱕ 0.001
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Volume 32 · Number 7 · 2017 · 889 –900
● the relative effect of religiosity on personal ethical beliefs;
● the relative effect of religiosity on collective and
individualistic (i.e. Moroccan and US) business
executives’ ethical intentions and behaviors; and
● the perceived ethical intentions and behavior of the
collective and individualistic business managers.
The findings of this exploratory research study generally
demonstrate that significant differences do exist between the
two cultures/countries in terms of idealism and relativism. In
other words, culture has impacts on business ethics. The
surveyed collective business managers tend to be more
idealistic than the individualistic business managers. Thus,
collective managers are more likely to accept the absolutism of
idealism than their individualistic counterparts. Additionally,
this study demonstrates that most of the collective managers
are Situationalists.
Managerial implications in the differences of the findings in
ethical typologies between collective and individualistic (i.e.
Moroccan and US) business executives are as follows. They
may have different negotiation styles on ethical business
decisions and issues. Managers from a collective culture are
not as likely to exhibit much change in their initial ethical
orientation(s). Similar results were found on Australian
Situationalists managers when compared to US managers
(Singhapakdi et al., 2001a).
In regard to the research hypothesis of whether religiosity is
generally a factor of a business manager’s personal moral
beliefs and philosophies, the findings reveal mixed results.
Specifically, there is a strong positive relationship between a
business manager’s religiosity and his/her degree of idealism.
In other words, the more religious business managers are, the
more Absolutist they are when making ethical and moral
judgments. Overall, the finding is consistent with others in the
existing business ethics literature. However, a strong negative
relationship between religiosity and relativism was not found.
This is not supported by some other findings in the reviewed
literature. Furthermore, Mascarenhas (1995) pointed out that
business manager commitment is to do good (i.e. ethical
responsibility) to all stakeholders which is founded on his/her
fundamental beliefs and value system. Moreover, this value
system is based on the individual’s religiosity. Our study
results confirm the existence of a positive association between
manager’s moral beliefs and his/her religiosity is positive in the
case of idealism (i.e. collective culture). However, our
research study findings did not demonstrate a negative
relationship between a business manager’s religiosity and his/
her degree of relativism (i.e. individualistic culture). In other
words, there is a positive relationship between a business
manager’s religiosity and his/her moral philosophy of idealism
in collective cultures.
This study reveals mixed findings in examining the
correlates of religiosity and various components of ethical
intentions. As reported in the reviewed literature (Singhapakdi
et al., 2000b; Oumlil and Balloun, 2009), this weak
association may be due to the multicultural nature of
the research setting of collectivism and individualism and to
the low reliability level of the Wilkes et al. (1986) religiosity
scale adopted in this research (Cronbach’s alpha ⫽ 0.57).
Thus, the link between religiosity and ethical intentions needs
to be viewed with caution. Given that we live in a global
 Cultural variations and ethical business
A. Ben Oumlil and Joseph L. Balloun
economy where businesses do operate in a multicultural
business milieu, to have a better understanding of this
relationship within various religious and cultural contexts is
critical to today’s business firms’ survival. This calls for
expanding the scope of this study into other cultures and
religions. Another suggested future direction is to examine the
effect of religiosity on morality and ethical intentions within
the context of consumer market(s) and/or other industries.
Scholars called for further research in examining the
relevance of individualism and collectivism to ethical
decision-making. This is due to the fact that individualism and
collectivism are especially relevant to various questions of
business ethics (Ralston et al., 2014; Husted and Allen, 2008;
Earley, 1993). This study provides empirical evidence
regarding the ethical orientations of business executives from
a collective culture (i.e. Morocco), vis-à-vis their counterparts
from an individualistic culture (i.e. the USA). The present
findings clarify the influence of culture on business ethical
decisions.
However, this exploratory research study faced limitations
as with any other study relying on self-reporting techniques.
For example, the participants were given only verbal
references to the topic and “hypothetical” vignettes, instead of
experiencing the actual ethical dilemmas. This is an area that
may be of interest for further research. In addition, efforts
were made to match cross-national samples as well as possible.
But as with other studies involving business executives, there
may be other cultural and demographic characteristics that
influence sample homogeneity (e.g. age and business
managers who are not pursuing a graduate business degree).
As stated, the increasing complexities of the global economy
command both a deeper and a broader understanding of the
business ethics. While the main focus of the majority of
research has been on the Western businesses and managers,
this exploratory research study’s focus is on Western business
environment as well as on non-Western business/cultural
milieu. Moreover, this study has important managerial
implications because of the view of culture as a common
reaction shared by individuals within a region. The findings of
this study can be extended to other markets in the
Mediterranean region that share similar cultural dimensions.
As the current global business landscape is shifting toward
Eastern (Asian) economies and emerging markets, this is
important. This shift brings new moral parameters and
business ethical frameworks (Morrison, 2015). Therefore, the
findings of this study are relevant to practitioners and
academicians in the USA and Europe, as well as in other world
regions. Continued research efforts to include comparisons of
ethical judgment and behavioral orientations of business
executives in cross-cultural milieu might prove to be valuable
in providing a broader and deeper perspective of business
ethics.
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About the authors
A. Ben Oumlil, PhD, is Professor of Marketing at Western
Connecticut State University. He is the author of a book,
case studies, chapters in various business textbooks and
numerous articles in refereed academic journals including
Journal of Business Research, Journal of Business Ethics,
Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing, Journal of Product
& Brand Management, Journal of the Market Research
Society, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science,
International Journal of Management, Quality & Quantity:
International Journal of Methodology, Industrial Marketing
Management, Journal of Hospital Marketing, Journal of
Purchasing and Material Management, Journal of Marketing
Theory and Practice, Journal of Marketing Management,
Educational and Psychological Measurement, Behavioral
Science Methods and Instruments and Computers, among
others. He presented numerous research papers at various
professional organizations’ conferences in the USA,
Canada, Asia, Europe, Africa and Latin America. A. Ben
Oumlil is the corresponding author and can be contacted at:
oumlila@wcsu.edu
Joseph L. Balloun, PhD, is Professor of Education at Mercer
University. He has published extensively on social science research
methods, statistical techniques in the social and behavioral sciences,
personnel management, organizational behavior, consumer
marketing and general management/business in such journals as
Practical Assessment, Research & Evaluation, The Routledge
Companion to Business in Africa, Journal of Business Ethics, Journal of
Business Research, International Journal of Business Disciplines,
The Atlantic Marketing Conference, SAM Advanced
Management Journal, Georgia Educational Researcher, Western
Journal of Human Resource Management, Quality and Quantity,
Journal of Modern Applied Statistical Methods, Information
Resources Management Journal, International Journal of
Information Management and Project Management Journal.

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