Abstract
Despite the prevalence of elective business ethics courses, little research has sought to explain and predict why some students enroll in these courses and while others do not. Using the theory of planned behavior (Ajzen and Madden, 1986) as a theoretical foundation, 178 graduate students in Ireland were surveyed about their intention to sign up for an elective ethics class. Their behavior was measured two months later. The results reveal the power of the theory of planned behavior to explain and predict who takes elective ethics classes.
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Donna M. Randall is an associate professor and chair in the Department of Management and Systems at Washington State University. Her research interests include business ethics, organizational commitment, and reproductive risk in the work place. Her work has appeared inJournal of Business Ethics, Decision Sciences, Academy of Management Review, Journal of Vocational Behavior, Journal of Business Research, and others.
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Randall, D.M. Why students take elective business ethics courses: Applying the theory of planned behavior. J Bus Ethics 13, 369–378 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00871764
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00871764