An empirical investigation of the moral judgment development of Taiwanese procurement executives

Abstract

The issue of ethical behavior in procurement has become increasingly critical to many organizations. A sample of 213 procurement executives from large Taiwanese companies was assessed in terms of their moral judgment development measured by the Defining Issues Test (Rest, 1979). The findings indicate that Taiwanese procurement executives focus more on the conventional level than on the postconventional level of moral judgment development. Taiwanese procurement personnel at a higher management level will have higher overall scores for moral judgment development than those at a lower management level, and upper management focus less on mutually satisfying outcomes and group harmonization than do middle or lower levels.