Abstract
The relationship between retailing students' beliefs and values about life and their reactions to and perceptions of ethical dilemmas in retailing settings was investigated. One hundred and two male and female college students majoring in retailing were asked to complete the Beliefs and Values Questionnaire (BVQ) and to indicate their agreement with a variety of actions taken in retailing situations. Participants were also asked to indicate the extent to which the scenarios presented were representative of ethical problems or issues. With a few exceptions, results of this exploratory study did not support the contention that beliefs and values, as a measure of ethical orientation, are related to one's perception of retailing scenarios as either ethical or unethical. Discussion focuses on the need for more rigorous, systematic research to identify the correlates of ethical or unethical behavior and also the need for more direct investigation of the link between ethical decision making and students' ethical orientation. It is argued that such research is necessary as a prerequisite to ethics education.
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The author expresses gratitude to the College for Human Development at Syracuse University for initial funding for this project.
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Olivette, M.J. Beliefs and values as possible correlates of ethical awareness in business. J Bus Psychol 9, 427–434 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02230980
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02230980