How business students view corruption, and why this should concern us

Abstract

When seeking to understand corruption in its ongoing temporal context, it is useful to consider business students. Because of their high numbers and the kinds of jobs they enter, they have a key role to play in challenging or sustaining corruption in their societies. This exploratory study focuses on these people in three countries in different regions – the USA, Romania and Lebanon – and asks ‘How does long-standing corruption in a country shape their attitudes toward bribery?’ Using a case-study methodology structured along four theoretical perspectives – universalism, cultural relativism, ethical relativism and consequentialism – the study suggests that, when viewed from a universalist perspective, students in corrupt societies may be more tolerant of corrupt practice than those living in less corrupt countries. Thus, rather depressingly, those who should be part of the solution may actually be part of the problem.