Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

Ethics in Small Business

1989; Wiley; Volume: 27; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

0047-2778

Justin G. Longenecker, Joseph A. McKinney, Carlos W. Moore,

Ethics in Business and Education

Ethical considerations affect business organizations of all sizes as, indeed, they affect all forms of human activity. A question exists, however, concerning similarities and differences in the ethical concerns and attitudes prevailing in large and small companies. This article addresses the question: To what extent do members of small business firms face ethical situations that are unique, or react to ethical issues in ways that differ from those of personnel in large corporations? Management practices in small firms have long been recognized as differing from those of large corporations. Small companies, for example, typically employ fewer professional specialists, operate with less formality, and reflect to a greater degree the personality and attitudes of the entrepreneur. In view of these general differences in management, one might also expect to find differences in the ethical environment, ethical precepts, and ethical perceptions in small business. Following are examples of studies or analyses that demonstrate or assume some distinctive feature or features of ethics in small business: Erika Wilson examined the perspectives of owners or managers of small businesses concerning their social responsibilities, recognizing that their perspective may differ from those of executives in large corporations. Daniel J. Brown and Johnathan B. King studied differences in the rather than absolute levels of ethical perceptions. The differences between members of small and large businesses were relatively minor. The largest difference, in fact, involved a mean of 1.7504 for those in large firms and 2.2911 for those in small firms-a difference of .5408, or slightly more than one-half point on a seven-point scale. Even so, respondents from small firms differed significantly from those in large firms on twelve of the sixteen vignettes. (Table 2 shows the statistical results of a t-test analysis of mean responses of those from large and small organizations.) On six of the twelve issues small firm respondents expressed more stringent ethical views-that is, a lower average mean score that positioned them closer to the never acceptable end of the scale. Yet on six other issues, small firm respondents indicated a significantly more permissive stance-that is, they were farther from the never acceptable end of the scale. This variation in small business attitudes-sometimes more demanding, sometimes more permissive, and sometimes the same as those of their large business counterparts-seems noteworthy. It would appear that situational differences lead respondents in different directions on particular issues. The small business halo, that is, a more demanding ethical position, appeared in connection with six quite distinct types of ethical issues, ranging from finance to marketing. Specifically, these issues were the following: 1. Faulty investment advice 2. Favoritism in promotion 3. Acquiescing in dangerous design flaw 4. Misleading financial reporting 5. Misleading advertising 6. Defending healthfulness of cigarette smoking Issues viewed with greater tolerance by small firm respondents included the following: I Padded expense account 2 Tax evasion 3. Collusion in bidding 4. Insider trading 5. Discrimination against women 6. Copying computer software DISCUSSION To understand the distinctive responses of those in small business, one must seek a pattern or underlying rationale to explain the differences. Such patterns are not readily apparent from survey data. …