The Interplay of Gender and Ethics in Corporate Offending Decision-Making

Abstract

There is a growing knowledge base on the factors associated with white-collar and corporate offending decisions. Limitations to this line of research include the lack of attention paid to moral and ethical considerations in decision-making and the need to better understand potential gender differences in the processes and outcomes of corporate offending. This paper uses data from a sample of adult MBA students to explore the interplay between ethics, gender, and corporate offending decisions. Results show that women are more likely to believe that corporations need regulation (i.e., women are more ethical) and that they are less likely to report affirmative offending intentions. Additionally, women are over two times more likely than men to report lower offending intentions and higher ethics. Implications for theoretical work on gender and organizations generally as well as within corporate crime contexts in particular are outlined.