Conflicts of Interest in Decision-making for the Transportation of Dangerous Goods by Sea: Perspectives of Freight-forwarding Sales People

Abstract

This study develops and investigates an ethical decision-making model to evaluate the major factors-moral sensitivity, moral consensus, desire for power, and desire for money-that influence conflicts of interest in decision-making among ocean-freight-forwarding salespeople. To empirically test this conceptual model, we used a scenario-based questionnaire to collect 139 valid samples and then conducted further analyses using Pearson product-moment correlation coefficients and hierarchical regressions. The results of the preliminary analysis revealed two types of conflicts of interest in decision-making, namely avoidance of negative effects and positive promotion, which were significantly related to moral sensitivity and moral consensus. Advanced regressions partially supported the six hypotheses proposed herein; thus, salespeople's ethical decision-making was influenced by their moral sensitivities, moral consensus, and desire for power. These findings provide new insight into the relevant factors that influence freight-forwarding salespeople's ethical judgments when making decisions concerning the transportation of dangerous goods. We also discuss the implications for daily operations of conflicts of interest in decision-making and provide managerial insights for freight-forwarding companies.