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Studying Ethical Judgments and Behavioral Intentions Using Structural Equations: Evidence from the Multidimensional Ethics Scale*

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Abstract

The linkage between ethical judgment and ethical behavioral intention was investigated. The Multidimensional Ethics Scale (MES) was used to measure ethical judgment ratings of hypothetical behaviors in retail, sales, and automobile repair scenarios. Confirmatory factor analysis on a sample of 300 undergraduate business students showed that a model with three latent variables representing three correlated ethical dimensions of moral equity, relativism, and contractualism, three correlated scenario latent variables, and correlated residuals presented a good fit to the data. Further, structural models of the relationship of ethical judgment to behavioral intentions revealed that behavioral intentions were more highly related to the scenario factors than to the ethical dimensions across three scenarios. Adding a method factor to the model improved goodness-of-fit and changed some structural model conclusions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Management, Towson University, 8000 York Road, Towson, MD, 21252, U.S.A.

    Nhung T. Nguyen

  2. Department of Psychology, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, 615 McCallie Avenue, Chattanooga, TN, 37403, U.S.A.

    Michael D. Biderman

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  1. Nhung T. Nguyen
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  2. Michael D. Biderman
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Correspondence to Nhung T. Nguyen.

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*An earlier version of this article was presented at the 2007 Annual Conference of the Southern Management Association, Nashville TN: November 7–10. We acknowledge an anonymous reviewer for all the helpful comments on this article.

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Nguyen, N.T., Biderman, M.D. Studying Ethical Judgments and Behavioral Intentions Using Structural Equations: Evidence from the Multidimensional Ethics Scale*. J Bus Ethics 83, 627–640 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-007-9644-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-007-9644-5

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