Major Influences on the Ethical Behavior of Financial Executives in the Hospitality Industry

ABSTRACT

This study attempted to determine the major influences on financial executives' ethical behavior. A random sample of financial executives was asked to indicate how strongly their ethical belief systems were influenced by various family and institutional factors. Respondents also reported on how strongly their ethical belief systems were influenced by various college or university courses that they completed. Findings in the study indicate that parents are by far the most important influence on controllers' ethical behavior. Spouses rank as the second most important influence, followed by immediate supervisors at work. These influences, however, do not appear to make a large difference in how financial executives responded to hypothetical ethical dilemmas.