Turning a Blind Eye: A Study of Peer Reporting in a Business School Setting

Abstract

This article examines student peer reporting by extending the findings from the business ethics and higher education literature. In the conceptual model we propose that reflective moral attentiveness, subjective knowledge of the code of ethics, and academic dishonesty beliefs antecede ethical judgment of peer reporting, which impacts intentions to report peers’ unethical behavior. The relationships are tested using structural equation modeling. The findings indicate that moral attentiveness significantly influences ethical judgment, which in turn affects intention. The relationship between beliefs about academic dishonesty and ethical judgment is partially supported. Based on these results, suggestions for higher education institutions are provided.

Keywords:

• peer reporting
• reflective moral attentiveness
• academic dishonesty
• ethical judgment
• ethical intention
• code of ethics
• business school