Assessing Ethical Climate: Adaptation and Psychometric Properties in the Indonesian Context

Abstract

Background

Despite the importance of understanding ethical climates in Indonesian organizations, a standardized scale for measuring this is lacking. Therefore, this study aims to adapt, validate, and ensure the consistency of the Ethical Climate Questionnaire (ECQ) within Indonesia’s cultural context.

Methods

Data were collected from 565 Indonesian individuals aged 18 or older, using an online survey and convenience sampling. To ensure accurate measurements, Beaton’s guidelines were followed. Reliability was assessed using Cronbach’s alpha and McDonald’s omega, while validity was examined through various analyses including content validity index and confirmatory factor analysis.

Results

The Indonesian version of the ECQ measures egoist, benevolent, and principled ethical climates reliably (Cronbach’s alpha: egoism=0.809, principle=0.920, benevolence=0.910). Validity analyses confirm the questionnaire’s validity. Demographic analysis shows age impacts the principle dimension, while organizational type affects all dimensions.

Conclusion

The Indonesian version of the ECQ demonstrates strong psychometric properties and cross-cultural adaptability, making it a valuable tool for assessing ethical climates among Indonesian individuals aged 18 or older.

Keywords:

• ethical climate
• Indonesian context
• test validation
• test adaptation

Ethical Approval

The ethical consideration for this study is reinforced by the Research Ethics Committee License number 1206/UN6.KEP/EC/2023 from Universitas Padjadjaran, along with obtained informed consents. Each participant provided explicit informed consent before engaging in the study, encompassing the publication of anonymized responses. The study adhered to ethical standards established in the 1964 Declaration of Helsinki and subsequent amendments or comparable ethical standards. All procedures were conducted in accordance with ethical standards and received approval from the ethics committee at Universitas Padjadjaran, Bandung, Indonesia.

Disclosure

The authors report no conflicts of interest in this work.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Universitas Bhayangkara Jakarta Raya under the assistance program for the author’s doctoral study (No. KEP/032/VII/2022/UBJ). It was also supported by the Direktorat Riset dan Pengabdian pada Masyarakat (DRPM) Universitas Padjadjaran for article publication.