Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-p9bg8 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-27T11:55:06.066Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Gender differences and behavioral integrity: From a social contract perspective

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 October 2013

Heh Jason Huang  and
Yishuo Hung
Heh Jason Huang
Affiliation:
College of Management, National Sun Yat-sen University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
Yishuo Hung*
Affiliation:
Marketing and Logistics Management Department, Hsiung-Kuo University of Management, Tainan, Taiwan
*
Corresponding author: yishuo@ms4.hinet.net
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Behavioral integrity refers to the consistency of an individual's words and actions. This consistency facilitates trust. Nevertheless, an individual's behavioral integrity often changes, to various extents, with one's surroundings. This study employs social contracts and scenarios to examine the underlying behavioral assumptions made by a specific gender within definite contexts in Taiwan. This study demonstrates that gender differences exist in behavioral integrity with contextual variations. Males under conformity pressures in public possess higher behavioral integrity, but exhibit lower behavioral integrity in private under pressure to protect themselves. This knowledge helps improve understanding within organizations as well as workplace communication between genders.

Keywords

behavioral integritysocial contractcontextsgender differencesscenariobusiness ethics
Type
Articles
Information
Journal of Management & Organization , Volume 19 , Issue 1 , January 2013 , pp. 86 - 100
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press and Australian and New Zealand Academy of Management 2013 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Akaah, P. (1989). Differences in research ethics judgments between male and female marketing professionals. Journal of Business Ethics, 8(5), 375–381.Google Scholar
Allen, R., Bacdayan, P., Kowalski, K. B., Roy, M. (2005). Examining the impact of ethics training on business student values. Education + Training, 47(3), 170–182.Google Scholar
Ang, S. H., Leong, S. M. (2000). Out of the mouth of babes: Business ethics and youths in Asia. Journal of Business Ethics, 28(2), 129–144.Google Scholar
Bartley, S. J., Blanton, P. W., Gilliard, J. L. (2005). Husband and wives in dual-earner marriages: Decision-making, gender role attitudes, division of household labor, and equity. Marriage & Family Review, 37(4), 69–94.Google Scholar
Bass, B. M. (1985). Leadership and performance beyond expectations. New York, NY: Macmillan.Google Scholar
Biernat, M., Fuegen, K. (2001). Shifting standards and the evaluation of competence: Complexity in gender-based judgment and decision making. Journal of Social Issues, 57(4), 707–724.Google Scholar
Boyd, E. (2002). The Noel Kempff project in Bolivia: Gender, power, and decision-making in climate mitigation. Gender and Development, 10(2), 70–77.Google Scholar
Calhoun, C. (1995). Standing for something. The Journal of philosophy, 92(5), 235–260.Google Scholar
Cava, A., Mayer, D. (2007). Integrative social contract theory and urban prosperity initiatives. Journal of Business Ethics, 72(3), 263–278.Google Scholar
Connelly, B. S., Lilienfeld, S. O., Schmeelk, K. M. (2006). Integrity tests and morality: Associations with ego development, moral reasoning, and psychopathic personality. International Journal of Selection and Assessment, 14, 82–86.Google Scholar
Den Hartog, D., House, R. J., Hanges, P. J., Ruiz-Quintanilla, A., GLOBE (1999). Emics and etics of culturally-endorsed implicit leadership theories: Are attributes of charismatic/transformational leadership universally endorsed? Leadership Quarterly, 10, 219–256.Google Scholar
Donaldson, T., Dunfee, T. W. (1994). Towards a unified conception of business ethics: Integrative social contracts theory. Academy of Management Review, 19(2), 252–284.Google Scholar
Donaldson, T., Dunfee, T. W. (1999). Ties that bind: A social contracts approach to business ethics. Cambridge, England: Harvard Business School Press.Google Scholar
Dunfee, T. W. (1991). Business Ethics and Extant Social Contracts. Business Ehics Quarterly, 1(1), 23–51.Google Scholar
Dunfee, T. W. (2006). A critical perspective of integrative social contracts theory: Recurring criticisms and next generation research topics. Journal of Business Ethics, 68(3), 303–328.Google Scholar
Dunfee, T. W., Donaldson, T. (1995). Social contract approaches to business ethics: Bridging the is- ought’ gap. In Frederick R. E., (Ed.), A companion to business ethics (pp. 38–55). Oxford, England: Blackwell.Google Scholar
Dunfee, T. W., Donaldson, T. (1995). Contractarian business ethics: Current status and next steps. Business Ethics Quarterly, 5(2), 173–186.Google Scholar
Eagly, A. H., Chrvala, C. (1986). Sex differences in conformity: Status and gender role interpretations. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 10, 203–220.Google Scholar
Ekin, M. G., Tezölmez, S. H. (1999). Business ethics in Turkey: An empirical investigation with special emphasis on gender. Journal of Business Ethics, 18(1), 17–34.Google Scholar
Fallon, M. A., Jome, L. M. (2007). An exploration of gender-role expectations and conflict among women rugby players. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 31, 311–321.Google Scholar
Gosling, M., Huang, J. H. (2010). The fit between integrity and integrative social contracts theory. Journal of Business Ethics. doi:10.1007/s10551-010-0425-1.Google Scholar
Greenberg, J., Eskew, D. E. (1993). The role of role playing in organizational research. Journal of Management, 19(2), 221–241.Google Scholar
Hall, M. E., Duvall, N. S. (2003). Married women in missions: The effects of cross-cultural and self gender-role expectations on well-being, stress, and self-esteem. Journal of Psychology and Theology, 31(4), 303–311.Google Scholar
Haviv, S., Leman, P. (2002). Moral decision-making in real life: factors affecting moral orientation and behaviour justification. Journal of Moral Education, 31(2), 121–140.Google Scholar
Izraeli, D., Jaffe, E. D. (2000). Are there gender differences in the ethics judgments of marketing managers? International Journal of Value-Based Management, 13(2), 159–172.Google Scholar
Janis, I. L. (1982). Groupthink. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin.Google Scholar
Johns, G. (2006). The essential impact of context on organizational behavior. Academy of Management Review, 31(2), 386–408.Google Scholar
Jones, T. M. (1991). Ethical decision making by individuals in organizations: An issue-contingent model. Academy of Management Review, 16(2), 366–395.Google Scholar
Keeley, M. (1988). A Social-contract theory of organizations. Notre Dame, Paris: University of Notre Dame Press.Google Scholar
Khazanchi, D. (1995). Unethical behavior in information systems: The gender factor. Journal of Business Ethics, 14(9), 741–749.Google Scholar
Koehn, D. (2005). Integrity as a business asset. Journal of Business Ethics, 58(2), 125–136.Google Scholar
Kohlberg, L. (1977). Moral development: A review of theory. Theory into Practice, 16(2), 53–59.Google Scholar
Mcfall, L. (1987). Integrity. Ethics, 98, 5–20.Google Scholar
Milgram, S. (1963). Behavioral study of obedience. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 67, 371–378.Google Scholar
Myyry, L., Helkama, K. (2002). The role of value priorities and professional ethics training in moral sensitivity. Journal of Moral Education, 31(1), 35–50.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nguyen, N. T., Basuray, M. T., Smith, W. P., Kopka, D., McCulloh, D. (2008). Moral issues and gender differences in ethical judgment using Reidenbach and Robin's (1990) Multidimensional Ethics Scale: Implications in teaching of business ethics. Journal of Business Ethics, 77(4), 417–430.Google Scholar
Palanski, M. E., Yammarino, F. J. (2007). Integrity and leadership: Clearing the conceptual confusion. European Management Journal, 25(3), 171–184.Google Scholar
Robinson, M. E., Heft, M. (2002). Gender role expectations of pain: relationship to experimental pain perception. Pain, 96(3), 335–342.Google Scholar
Ruegger, D., King, E. W. (1992). A study of the effect of age and gender upon student business ethics. Journal of Business Ethics, 11, 179–186.Google Scholar
Salbu, S. R. (2000). Ties that bind: ISCT as a procedural approach to business ethics. Business and Society Review, 105(4), 444–451.Google Scholar
Sama, L, Reisel, W. D. (2005). Community-level application of ISCT when norms collide: Access to HIV medicines in South Africa. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management, Honolulu.Google Scholar
Simons, T. L. (2002). Behavioral integrity: The perceived alignment between managers’ words and deeds as a research focus. Organization Science, 13, 18–35.Google Scholar
Simons, T. L. (2007). The integrity dividend: Leading by the power of your word. Hoboken, NJ: Jossey-Bass.Google Scholar
Speizer, I., Whittle, L., Carter, M. (2005). Gender relations and reproductive decision making in Honduras. International family Planning Perspectives, 31(3), 131–139.Google Scholar
Stedham, Y., Yamamura, J. H., Beekun, R. I. (2007). Gender differences in business ethics: Justice and relativist perspectives. Business ethics: A European review, 16(2), 163–174.Google Scholar
Tamang, S. (2002). Dis-embedding the sexual/social contract: Citizenship and gender in Nepal. Citizenship Studies, 6(3), 309–324.Google Scholar
Trevino, L. K. (1986). Ethical decision making in organizations: A person-situation interactionist model. Academy of Management Review, 11(3), 601–614.Google Scholar
Voss, J. F., Van Dyke, J. A. (2001). Narrative structure, information, certainty, emotional content, and gender as factors in a pseudo jury decision-making task. Discourse processes, 32(2&3), 215–243.Google Scholar
Wempe, B. (2004). On the use of the social contract model in business ethics. Business ethics: A European review, 13(4), 332–341.Google Scholar
Whitener, E. M., Brodt, S. E., Korsgaard, M. A., Werner, J. M. (1998). Managers as initiators of trust: An exchange relationship framework for understanding managerial trustworthy behavior. Academy of Management Review, 23(3), 513–530.Google Scholar
Wicks, A. C., Berman, S. L., Jones, T. M. (1999). The structure of optimal trust: Moral and strategic implications. Academy of Management Review, 24(1), 99–116.Google Scholar
Yang, C., Wu, C. C. (2007). Gender and internet consumers’ decision-making. CyberPsychology & Behavior, 10(1), 86–91.Google Scholar
Yukl, G. A. (2002). Leadership in organizations (5th ed.). Prentice-Hall: Englewood Cliffs, NJ.Google Scholar
Zikmund, W. G., Sciglimpaglia, D., Lundstrom, W., Cowell, R. (1984). The effects of gender and product stereotyping on conformity judgments: An experiment. Advances in Consumer Research, 11, 265–269.Google Scholar