THE IMPACT OF BUSINESS ETHICS COURSE ON ETHICAL PERCEPTIONS AND INTENTIONS OF UNIVERSITY STUDENTS

Abstract

This study examines whether attending a business ethics course changes the ethical problem perceptions and ethical intentions of marketing students. In other words, this study investigates the effectiveness of business ethics training. An experimental study is conducted on 152 undergraduate students. Nearly half of the students (experimental group) attended a 10 hours course on business ethics, while the other half (control group) did not attend the course. Their ethical perceptions and intentions-regarding four different scenarios about ethical issues-are measured before and after the training. Differences between groups are tested by paired samples t tests. Data analyses revealed that, ethical perceptions and intentions of the experimental group significantly increased after attending the course, while there was no significant difference on the control group. Results are discussed and theoretical and managerial implications of the findings are provided.