Business Ethics as a Sustainability Challenge: Higher Education Implications

Guillermina Tormo-Carbó,Elies Seguí-Mas,Víctor Oltra

doi:10.3390/su10082717

Guillermina Tormo-Carbó, Elies Seguí-Mas + Show 1 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/su10082717

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Abstract

Recent financial scandals worldwide have intensified concern for business (and especially accounting) ethics. Hence, under an overall economic and social sustainability approach, it is crucial to improve the effectiveness of business ethics and corporate social responsibility (CSR) education, in terms of its impact on business students’ awareness of ethical issues. However, stand-alone business ethics/CSR courses are uncommon in Spanish universities. Accordingly, this paper aims at examining the influence of ethics courses on students’ awareness of business ethics in unfriendly environments. We test our hypotheses, through hierarchical regression, in a sample of 551 management students of a Spanish university. Our results suggest that business ethics/CSR courses increase awareness of the importance of ethics in: (i) business courses, (ii) recognizing accounting ethical implications, and (iii) workplace decisions. Our findings also show that a joint interactive effect of gender (female students) and age (older students) increases the impact of business ethics/CSR courses on students’ awareness of the importance of: (i) ethics in workplace decisions, and (ii) the recognition of accounting ethical implications. Our results also support the relevance of different learning styles and the convenience of adapting ethics/CSR teaching methods depending on students’ characteristics. Research and practical implications are derived from our findings.

Highlights

The necessity of balancing economic growth with social and environmental concerns, thereby reinforcing the relevance of the idea of sustainable development, is gaining interest [1]
In Hypothesis 1 (H1), we proposed that taking an ethics/corporate social responsibility (CSR) course positively impacts management students’ ethical awareness
The two General Aspects of Ethics (GAE) items that have been significantly influenced by ethics/CSR courses (H1) are, precisely, the importance of ethics in business courses (GAE2) and in workplace decisions (GAE4)

Summary

Introduction

The necessity of balancing economic growth with social and environmental concerns, thereby reinforcing the relevance of the idea of sustainable development, is gaining interest [1]. Sustainable development carries significant implications, insofar companies play a key role in the long-term synergistic achievement of the so-called triple (economic, social and environmental) bottom line of socially-responsible corporate behaviour and performance [2,3] In this context of the relevance of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and sustainability issues in business, ethical decision-making becomes crucial for sustainable accomplishment of (corporate and social level) triple bottom line goals [4,5]. Standards and regulatory norms can contribute to reducing the risks of accounting malpractice, the most effective way to achieve this goal would be to boost accountants’ capabilities to consider ethical issues and act [15,16] In this sense, ethical and socially responsible behaviour shown by forthcoming professionals is being currently shaped by higher education curricula [2,17,18,19]. It is important to note that business is one of the most popular majors chosen by Spanish university students [22] A management degree is one of the three most valued profiles required in the labour market [23]

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