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Business ethics in the European Union: a study of

Greek attitudes

Spero C. Peppas
Mercer University, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
George J. Peppas
University of La Verne, Athens, Greece

Keywords

Ethics, Codes of practice,


Education, European Union,
Greece

Abstract

Globalization and economic


integration have focused attention
on the topic of ethics in
international management. At a
time when the European Union is
attempting to harmonize
standards in many areas, the issue
of ethics within the EU deserves
special attention. Given the
diversity of the historical and
cultural backgrounds of EU
citizens, one might expect to find
different ethical orientations in
different EU countries. In an effort
to gain an understanding about
ethics in an EU country where
little previous research has been
conducted, this article is directed
toward the attitudes of future
Greek professionals. A sample of
the current college-student
population in Greece was surveyed
regarding professional and
business ethics to understand how
we might expect individuals from
Greece to behave once they have
to make the difficult decisions
that are necessary in business
circumstances.

Management Decision
38/6 [2000] 369376
# MCB University Press
[ISSN 0025-1747]

Introduction
In recent years, there has been considerable
interest among academicians in the topic of
business ethics and a call for additional
research regarding ethics across cultures (for
example, Laczniak, 1993; Vitell et al., 1993).
Given that there is little empirical research
in this area, international managers have
had, in most cases, to draw their own
conclusions regarding ethics in foreign
markets (Schlegelmilch and Robertson, 1995).
A recent study suggests that there are
different perceptions about ethical standards
in northern and southern Europe (Jeurissen
and van Luijk, 1998). In an effort to provide
global managers with a better understanding
of ethical perceptions in different nations,
this paper examines the attitudes of a sample
of the current college-student population in
Greece regarding professional and business
ethics. We attempt to find how we might
expect future generations of Greeks to
behave once they complete their university
education and are forced to make the difficult
decisions that are a part of doing business. At
a time when the European Union is receiving
increased attention, we feel that a study of
ethics in an EU country that has received
little attention in the literature and that has
been historically linked to both East and
West, as well as to Eastern Europe, should
prove useful to managers, academicians, and
consultants. We examine the attitudes of
Greek students in terms of an ethical
practices code and with respect to a set of
ethical value statements. We compare
responses in terms of sex, age, work
experience, and religious preference to see if
significant differences exist. In addition, we
examine the effects of a course in ethics on
attitudes toward a code and the ethical value
statements.
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Relevant literature
Prior research on the topic of ethics has come
from a wide range of disciplines, has focused
on a wide range of issues and, in many
instances, is inconclusive. Following is a
representative, rather than exhaustive,
summary of some of the more relevant
findings. For the purposes of this study, the
findings have been grouped under three
headings related to the study at hand.

Ethics and individual characteristics

Ford and Richardson (1994), in their review


of the literature, indicate that for the most
part the existing research on ethics focuses
on individual characteristics, including such
attributes as religion, sex, age, employment
experience, nationality, and education. They
report that religious value orientation,
religious preference, and attending religious
services do not significantly affect attitudes
toward ethics. Contrary to this observation,
McNichols and Zimmerer (1985) found that
strength of religious belief influenced
students' opinions of what was acceptable
when presented with certain ethical
questions.
The findings concerning a relationship
between gender and attitudes toward ethics
are mixed. About half the studies suggest
that women are more prone to ethical
behavior than men, while the other half show
no relationship. Betz et al. (1989) discovered
that men are at least twice as likely to
participate in unfair practices as are women.
Among business school students, the male
students reported that career advancement
was more important than relationships or
helping others. Similarly, Malinowski and
Berger (1996) found that undergraduate
women responded more ethically than men
when faced with marketing dilemmas.
Hoffman (1998) took the gender-dependent
ethics issue further by examining whether
the gender influence is situational. He found
that while women managers in a large

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Spero C. Peppas and


George J. Peppas
Business ethics in the
European Union: a study of
Greek attitudes
Management Decision
38/6 [2000] 369376

[ 370 ]

Southeastern US firm were more ethical than


their male colleagues with respect to unsafe
products, they were no different than men
when it came to product misrepresentation.
Dawson (1997) looked at gender issues
among salespeople and found that, in
situations that involved relational issues,
women had higher ethical behavior scores
than men. Dawson found that women make
ethical decisions based on feelings and
relationships. No significant differences
were found in non-relational circumstances.
The differences lessened as the sales staff
gained experience and age.
A study by Deshpande (1997) focusing on
accepting favors for special treatment
showed that female managers thought it
more unethical to accept favors than did
male managers. In this same study, age was
found to affect ethical attitudes, as older
managers found certain types of unethical
behavior, e.g. divulging confidential
information, to be more objectionable than
did younger managers. Deshpande also
concluded that there was a positive
relationship between level of education and
ethical standards. Managers with advanced
degrees tended to have higher ethical
standards.
In studies dealing with ethics and
nationality, White and Rhodeback (1992)
showed a significant relationship between
unethical behavior and non-US citizenship.
Jackson and Artola (1997) studied French and
German managers and found that ethical
attitudes and behavior varied by nationality
of the manager. Regarding attitudes toward
accepting gifts for preferential treatment, the
home country of the firm was significant;
however, the country in which the firm was
located was not. Armstrong and Sweeney
(1994) and Chan and Armstrong (1999) found
that Hong Kong and Canadian managers had
different ethical perspectives than their
Australian counterparts. In another study on
nationality and ethics, Singhapakdi et al.
(1994) and Singhapakdi et al. (1995) concluded
that American (US) marketers are different
from their Thai counterparts in the way they
view ethical problems and in their
professional and personal values. Whang
(1999) suggests that as a result of
``overoptimism'' stemming from the creed of
Buddhism, Korean managers often fail to
give serious thought to social responsibility.
Tsalikis and Nwachukwu (1991) found that
there were similarities and significant
differences between US and Nigerian
business students' views of bribery and
extortion with Nigerian students perceiving
some scenarios as less unethical than did US
students.

In literature relating to Europe, Whipple


and Swords' (1992) comparison of US and UK
business students showed that the ethics
judgments of the two groups were different.
They found that US students were more
critical with regard to confidentiality,
research integrity and certain issues relating
to the marketing mix than were UK students.
In an article focusing on marketing ethics
and culture, Nill and Shultz (1997) discussed
European and US perspectives and proposed
decision guidelines for use in cross-cultural
contexts. In their article based on a study of
nine European countries which included the
southern European countries of Spain and
Italy, Jeurissen and van Luijk (1998) found
that the northern European countries had a
positive score in terms of business ethical
conduct, whereas the southern countries had
a negative score. While there are few
empirical studies focusing on ethics of
Greeks, a study by Tsalikis and LaTour (1995)
compared Greek and US students' attitudes
toward several bribery and extortion
scenarios and found that, in some cases,
there were significant differences in the
attitudes of individuals from the two
countries.

Codes of ethics

A number of studies have addressed the issue


of codes of ethical conduct. Weeks and Nantel
(1992) found evidence that a well understood
code is linked to more ethical behavior
among salespeople. In their literature review
that included ethics codes, Ford and
Richardson (1994) discovered that codes of
conduct and corporate policies on ethics are
significantly related to a higher standard of
ethical behavior. Gray (1996) found that
having a code of conduct can be useful in
helping individuals avoid ethically
compromising situations. Similarly, Navran
(1997) advanced that a best-practices ethics
program helps employees not feel that they
must act unethically to survive.
Tucker et al. (1999) studied codes of ethics
of professional organizations and advanced
that the origins, contents, and effects of such
codes are affected by a number of factors.
Such factors include socio-economic and
political variables. Nonetheless, many
associations have developed codes and
contend that codes help their members
behave more ethically.
Cooper and Frank (1997) compared
professionals in the accounting and
insurance fields and found that CPAs and
CLUs tended to rely more on their respective
codes of ethics than did other groups within
these fields, when ethical questions arose.
The study also showed that company-specific

Spero C. Peppas and


George J. Peppas
Business ethics in the
European Union: a study of
Greek attitudes
Management Decision
38/6 [2000] 369376

policies emphasizing ethical conduct,


encouraging employees not to put
organizational goals ahead of ethics, and
facilitating discussion of ethical issues
between employee and superior, contributed
to more ethical behavior.
Codes of ethics in international business is
a topic which also appears in the literature.
Because of cultural differences, some feel
that the implementation of an
``international'' code of conduct would be
difficult. However, Smeltzer and Jennings
(1998), recognizing that some adaptation may
be necessary, argue that codes should be
developed that set forth guidelines for core
ethical practices across cultures. Along this
same line of reasoning, Payne et al. (1997)
review several international codes of conduct
and attempt to develop an international
uniform code. Roth et al. (1996) also agree
that, despite the differences in ethical
practices in the world, an international
ethical behavior code is feasible.
International associations have in fact
established such codes.

The teaching of ethics

The effects of teaching ethics on attitudes


toward ethics is another topic which
appears in the literature. Luoma (1989)
stated that requiring students to learn the
rules and guidelines of a particular
profession to achieve a certification or
license does not necessarily lead to more
ethical behavior.
Wynd and Mager (1989), over a two-and-ahalf year period, studied the effects of a
course in business and society on student
attitudes toward ethics. They found that
there was no significant effect resulting from
the class. They concluded that a single class
focusing on ethical dilemmas in business is
not sufficient to bring about changes in
students' perspectives. Davis and Welton
(1991) wished to determine whether class
standing affected attitudes about ethics in
business. They too found that classes do not
influence ethical behavior, but suggest that,
instead, long-term exposure to business
circumstances is more effective than formal
training.
Hiltebeitel and Jones (1992) had different
results in a study focusing on accounting
students. In an experiment across two
universities, they found that, by integrating
ethical matters into coursework, students
relied more heavily on ethical standards. In
another accounting study, Eynon et al. (1997)
found that students who had taken a course
in ethics had significantly different attitudes
toward ethics than those who had not.

Despite these mixed results, students


themselves seem to feel that the teaching of
ethics is important. Shannon and Berl (1997)
showed that students felt quite strongly that
talking about ethics was worthwhile. Many
also felt that a course in business/marketing
ethics should be required.

Methodology
The primary purpose of this study was to
measure attitudes of a particular segment of
the EU population toward an ethical
practices code and toward eight ethics value
statements. To this end, we examined
responses of a sample of Greek university
students and made comparisons in terms of
sex, age, work experience, and religious
preference to see if significant differences
existed.
In addition, we examined the effects of a
course in ethics on attitudes toward the code
and the ethical value statements.

Sampling

The non-probability sample used in this


study consisted of Greek students enrolled in
a private university in Athens, Greece
during Fall semester, 1998. We obtained 62
usable responses.

Measurement instrument

The questionnaire consisted of a


demographic information section and a twopart ethics survey. The demographic section
gathered information on sex, age,
nationality, religious affiliation, work
experience, and whether respondents had
taken a course in ethics. The parts of the
survey focusing on ethics were derived from
a survey used by Becker and Fritzshe (1987).
In Part I, students were asked to assume that
an Ethical Practices Code had been drawn up
by firms operating in various fields. They
were then asked to indicate their levels of
agreement/disagreement, on a scale from 1
(disagree) to 5 (agree), with seven statements
relating to the possible consequences of such
a code. In Part II, students were asked to
indicate their levels of agreement/
disagreement, on a scale of 1 (disagree) to 5
(agree), with eight value statements.

Methods of analysis

The demographic data were analyzed to


provide frequencies. For Part I and Part II,
responses to the 15 statements were analyzed
by calculating mean scores for each
statement and for each demographic
category. Using ANOVA, means were tested
for significant differences.

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Spero C. Peppas and


George J. Peppas
Business ethics in the
European Union: a study of
Greek attitudes
Management Decision
38/6 [2000] 369376

Results
Demographics

Of the 40 females and 22 males participating


in this study, nearly 80 percent had work
experience. While the ages of the respondents
ranged from 18 to 43, 64.5 percent were 21
years old or under. Nearly 13 percent had
taken a course in ethics. In terms of religious
affiliation, 77.4 percent were Christian
Orthodox. All were Greek citizens.

Ethics
Assessment of the ethics practices code

Part I provided students with the paragraph


below, followed by seven Likert-type
statements scaled from 1 (disagree) to 5
(agree), with only end-points labeled. An odd
point scale was employed to provide a neutral
(3) position.
Assume for a moment that an Ethical
Practices Code has been drawn up by firms
operating in the field of your major, e.g.
marketing firms, real estate firms, etc. The
following statements assess what you think
such a code and its reasonable enforcement
would accomplish.

The following paragraphs report the


responses of the students taken as a group
with respect to each of the seven statements
relating to the code. In addition, significant
findings in terms of demographic
comparisons are reported.
1. The code would raise the ethical level of
business in my field
With an agreement level of 3.40, Greek
students agreed, though not strongly, that a
code would raise the ethical level of business
in their fields. The demographic comparisons
yielded no significant differences with one
exception. Students with no work experience
agreed significantly more strongly with this
statement than did students with work
experience. The mean scores of the two
groups were 4.00 and 3.24, respectively.
Perhaps individuals with no work experience
are more idealistic while those who have
worked have experienced situations which
make them more skeptical with regard to the
positive effects of a code.
2. The code would be easy to enforce
Taken as a whole, Greek students disagreed
with this statement with a mean score of 2.81.
Once again, work experience appears to have
a significant effect regarding an ethical
practices code. Students with no work
experience moderately agreed with this
statement, indicating that they thought that
the code would not be difficult to enforce,
while those having work experience

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moderately disagreed. The mean scores of the


two groups were 3.36 and 2.65, respectively.
3. In situations of severe competition, the code
would reduce the use of unethical practices
With a mean score of 3.38, Greek students
taken as a whole agreed with this statement.
Again, work experience appears to
significantly affect attitudes. With levels of
agreement of 4.00 and 3.19 respectively,
students who had not worked felt more
strongly that the code could reduce the use of
unethical practices in severe competition
than did students who had work experience.
4. Individuals working in my field would
welcome the code when looking for a way to
diplomatically refuse an unethical request
Greek students taken as a whole agreed with
this statement with a mean score of 3.51. The
demographic comparisons yielded no
significant differences.
5. The code would protect inefficient firms and
retard the growth of businesses in my field
With a mean score of 3.10, Greek students as a
whole were closer to neutral in their feeling
to this statement than they were to any other
related to the code. Again, work experience
appears to significantly affect attitudes.
Students who had worked indicated that they
disagreed slightly with this statement while
those who had not agreed somewhat. The
mean scores for the two groups were 2.94 and
3.67, respectively. Interestingly, religious
affiliation also significantly affected attitudes
with regard to this statement. The Christian
Orthodox students agreed somewhat with the
statement while students declaring other
religious affiliations disagreed. The mean
scores for the two groups were 3.24 and 2.64
respectively.
6. The code would help business people by
clearly defining the limits of acceptable
conduct
With an agreement level of 3.65, Greek
students taken as a whole agreed more
strongly with this statement than they did
with any other related to the code. Students
with no work experience agreed even more
strongly, with a mean score of 4.18. Though
also in agreement, individuals with work
experience indicated, with a mean score of
3.51, that they felt less positively about this
statement.
7. People would violate the code whenever they
thought they could avoid detection
Greek students as a whole agreed, though not
strongly, with this statement with a mean

Spero C. Peppas and


George J. Peppas
Business ethics in the
European Union: a study of
Greek attitudes
Management Decision
38/6 [2000] 369376

score of 3.55. There were no significant


differences in the demographic comparisons.

shareholders alone without also considering


employees and consumers.

Ethical values assessment

6. Religious beliefs should play no role in


making business decisions

The following paragraphs examine the


responses of students with respect to eight
statements measuring certain ethical values.
Significant findings in terms of demographic
comparisons are reported.
1. Doing what is ethically right is good
business in the long run
Greek students agreed that doing what is
ethically right is good business in the long
run, with an agreement level of 3.71. The
demographic comparisons yielded no
significant differences.
2. Let the buyer beware
Greek students as a whole agreed more
strongly with this statement than they did
with any other statement in Part I or Part II
of the survey. With a mean score of 3.74, it
would seem that the notion of caveat emptor
has special meaning to Greek students. The
absence of a strong consumer movement in
Greece and a general lack of awareness
regarding consumer rights issues may in
part explain attitudes with regard to this
statement.
3. Business people working in my field tend to
ignore ethical considerations when doing
business
With a mean score of 3.46, Greek students
indicated that they believe that business
people in their field tend to ignore ethical
considerations. The demographic
comparisons yielded no significant
differences.
4. Whatever is good business is good ethics
It is with this statement that Greek students
as a whole indicated stronger disagreement
than with any other statement in Part I or
Part II of the survey. With a mean score of
2.38 they indicate that they believe that good
business does not necessarily equate with
good ethics.
5. For managers to act in the interest of
shareholders alone, and not also in the
interest of employees and consumers, is
unethical
In a time when schools and the business
community are stressing the importance of
maximizing shareholder value, the analysis
of the responses to this statement yielded
unexpected results. With an agreement level
of 3.54, Greek students taken as a whole
indicated they felt that it was unethical for
managers to act in the interest of

In a nation that does not separate religion


from most matters, i.e., hardly any
separation of church and state, the findings
with regard to this statement may seem
surprising. Greek students taken as a whole
agreed with the statement with a mean score
of 3.66. While the Greek people accept the
Orthodox Church as an important part of
their nation, students are saying, although
not very strongly, that religion should not be
a factor in the making of business decisions.
Comparisons based on religious affiliation as
well as on the other demographics considered
in this study yielded no significant
differences.
7. As a result of stiffer competition today,
many business people find themselves forced
to resort to practices which are considered
shady, but which appear necessary to
survive
Greek students agreed with this statement
with a mean score of 3.69. The demographic
comparisons yielded no significant
differences.
8. Business people exist for the sole purpose of
creating and delivering value satisfaction
at a profit to themselves. Therefore,
business decisions should be made without
regard to moral issues
Greek students indicated their disagreement
with this statement with a mean score of 2.56.
Most interestingly, it is for this statement
alone that the comparison of the responses of
students who had and who had not taken a
course in ethics yielded significant
differences. With one of the strongest attitude
scores of the study, Greek students who had
taken a course in ethics disagreed with this
statement with a mean score of 1.75. Those
who had not disagreed significantly less
strongly with a score of 2.69.

Conclusions
We embarked on this study to examine
attitudes of a segment of the EU population
toward business ethics and to determine if
certain demographic factors affected
attitudes toward an ethical practices code
and ethical value statements. Of interest was
whether sex, age, religious affiliation, work
experience and whether respondents had
taken a course in ethics had an effect on
ethical values of Greek students.

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Spero C. Peppas and


George J. Peppas
Business ethics in the
European Union: a study of
Greek attitudes
Management Decision
38/6 [2000] 369376

[ 374 ]

We found that Greek students believed that


an ethical practices code would not be easy to
enforce, that people would violate the code if
they thought that they could avoid detection,
and, to a somewhat lesser degree, that the
code would protect inefficient firms. In
support of a code, Greek students believed
that the code would raise the ethical level of
business in different fields, that the code
would reduce the use of unethical practices
in cases of severe competition, that
individuals would welcome the code when
looking for ways to diplomatically refuse
unethical requests, and, believed to an even
greater degree, that a code would be helpful
to business people in that it would clearly
define the limits of acceptable conduct.
With regard to the eight ethical value
statements examined in this study, we found
that Greek students believe in the rule of
caveat emptor. Interestingly, they felt more
strongly about this value statement than they
did about any other. We also determined that
Greek students believe that doing what is
ethically right is good business in the long
run; that whatever is good business is not
(necessarily) good ethics; that for managers
to act in the interest of shareholders alone,
and not also in the interest of employees and
consumers, is unethical; that religious beliefs
should not play a role in making business
decisions; and that, because of stiffer
competition today, many business people are
forced to resort to practices which are
considered shady. We also found that while
Greek students believed that business people
in their fields tend to ignore ethical
considerations when doing business, they
also felt that business decisions should not be
made without considering moral issues.
In terms of the effects of demographics on
attitudes toward an ethical practices code
and ethical values, contrary to the findings of
several studies in other countries, we found
that for the Greek students in this study,
attitudes were not affected by gender or age.
Again, contrary to findings in other
countries, we found that religious affiliation
did, in one instance, significantly affect
attitudes toward ethics. The Christian
Orthodox Greek students in this study felt
significantly more strongly than did nonOrthodox students that a code would protect
inefficient firms and retard the growth of
businesses in their field. On consideration of
Christian Orthodox beliefs, we are hard
pressed to explain this finding. Given the
teachings of Christian Orthodoxy and the
nature of the statement itself, we feel that
this finding is most probably an artifact of
the data. However, future researchers may
wish to further examine this issue.

In terms of the effect of work experience,


we found no significant differences in the
attitudes of Greek students with and without
experience in terms of the value statements.
However, in terms of the ethical practices
code, it appears that work experience
significantly affects attitudes on several
points. The findings appear to point out that
students with no experience are more
idealistic or perhaps more nave than those
with experience. Specifically, we discovered
that Greek students without work experience
believed more strongly than those with
experience that a code would raise the ethical
level of business in their fields, that a code
would reduce the use of unethical practices
in cases of severe competition, and that a
code would help business people by clearly
defining the limits of acceptable conduct.
Further, students with work experience felt
that while a code would not be easy to
enforce, it would not protect inefficient firms
and retard the growth of business in their
fields. On the other hand, Greek students
without work experience believed that the
code would be easy to enforce and that a code
would protect inefficient firms.
While the current trend in the USA is to try
to teach ethics by including a course in the
curriculum or by addressing the topic in
individual courses, we found that taking a
course in ethics did not significantly affect
attitudes of Greek students except with
regard to one ethics value statement.
Students having taken a course felt, with one
of the strongest attitude scores in the study,
that business decisions should not be made
without regard to moral issues. Greek
students not having taken a course felt
similarly, but significantly less strongly. It
appears that a course in ethics affected only
the responses regarding whether a
businessperson should take moral issues into
account when making decisions. A course
had no effect on the responses toward the
code or the other value statements. Without
an examination of the content of the ethics
courses in which these students were
enrolled, it is difficult to draw any clear
conclusions. However, it appears that a
course in ethics might heighten awareness of
ethics without changing basic attitudes about
ethics codes or values.
Given the EU's efforts toward
harmonization of standards and research
findings suggesting that southern Europeans
are perceived as having lower ethical
standards than northern Europeans, the
findings of this study should prove useful to
managers, academicians, and consultants. In
the spirit of better understanding among the
citizens of the EU and the world in general,

Spero C. Peppas and


George J. Peppas
Business ethics in the
European Union: a study of
Greek attitudes
Management Decision
38/6 [2000] 369376

this study has attempted to provide


information regarding the ethical
perspectives of future Greek professionals.
Other researchers may wish to re-examine
the subject of this study using other samples
and/or by conducting longitudinal studies.
Further, this study should be replicated in
other EU countries so as to provide
information about attitudes toward ethics in
different nations. Comparisons of attitudes
should prove valuable for the development of
codes of ethics and for understanding
behaviors and practices.

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Spero C. Peppas and


George J. Peppas
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Greek attitudes
Management Decision
38/6 [2000] 369376

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Application questions
1 Do ethical practices codes raise ethical
levels?
2 Are Greek attitudes toward ethics and
ethical practices codes different from
those of other EU citizens?
3 Why do Greek students who have been in
the workplace see issues surrounding
ethics differently than those who have no
work experience?

[ 376 ]

4 Historical events have linked Greece to


both West and East as well as Eastern
Europe. Would the citizens of other
countries seeking EU membership have
similar attitudes to those of Greeks?

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