Abstract
The factor structure of the Multidimensional Ethics Scale (MES; Reidenbach and Robin: 1988, Journal of Business Ethics 7, 871–879; 1990, Journal of Business Ethics 9, 639–653) was examined for the 8-item short form (N = 328) and the original 30-item pool (N = 260). The objectives of the study were: to verify the dimensionality of the MES; to increase the amount of true cross-scenario variance through the use of 18 scenarios varying in moral intensity (Jones: 1991, Academy of Management Review 16, 366–395); and, to examine the items for measurement precision using item-response theory (IRT) methods. Results of confirmatory and exploratory factor analysis failed to conclusively support the hypothesized 3- (short form) or 5-factor (long form) structure; both instruments were instead dominated by a general factor. Item response theory analyses using Samejima’s (1969, Psychometrika Monograph Supplement 34, (4, Pt. 2)) graded response model revealed that many items in the 30-item pool performed very well, and suggested that a different collection of items be used to form a short-form version of the MES. Our proposed 10-item instrument includes more discriminating items than the 8-item version, and has the added advantage of including two items from each of the five ethical philosophies represented in the original 30-item pool.
Article PDF
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
Clark J. W., Dawson L. E. (1996). Personal Religiousness and Ethical Judgements: An Empirical Analysis. Journal of Business Ethics 15:359–372
Cohen J., Pant L., Sharp D. (1993). A Validation and Extension of a Multidimensional Ethics Scale. Journal of Business Ethics 12:13–26
Cohen J. R., Pant L. W., Sharp D. J. (2001). An Examination of Differences in Ethical Decision-making between Canadian Business Students and Accounting Professionals. Journal of Business Ethics 30:319–336
Cruz C. A., Shafer W. E., Strawser J. R. (2000). A Multidimensional Analysis of Tax Practitioner’s Ethical Judgements. Journal of Business Ethics 24:223–244
Davis M. A., Andersen M. G., Curtis M. B. (2001). Measuring Ethical Ideology in Business Ethics: A Critical Analysis of the Ethics Position Questionnaire. Journal of Business Ethics 32:35–53
Davis M. A., Johnson N. B., Ohmer D. G. (1998). Issue-Contingent Effects on Ethical Decision Making: A Cross-Cultural Comparison. Journal of Business Ethics 17:373–389
Ellis T. S., Griffith D. (2001). The Evaluation of IT Ethical Scenarios Using a Multidimensional Scale. The DATA BASE for Advances in Information Systems 32:75–85
Embretson S. E., Reise S. P. (2000). Item Response Theory for Psychologists. Erlbaum, Mahwah, NJ
Fabrigar L. R., Wegener D. T., MacCallum R. C., Strahan E. J. (1999). Evaluating the Use of Exploratory Factor Analysis in Psychological Research. Psychological Methods 4(3):272–299
Ferrell O. C., Gresham L. G., Fraedrich J. (1989). A Synthesis of Ethical Decision Models for Marketing. Journal of Macromarketing 11:55–64
Flory S. M., Phillips T. J. Jr., Reidenbach R. E., Robin D. P. (1992). A Multidimensional Analysis of Selected Ethical Issues in Accounting. The Accounting Review 67:284–302
Ford J. K., MacCallum R. C., Tait M. (1986). The Application of Exploratory Factor Analysis in Applied Psychology: A Critical Review and Analysis. Personnel Psychology 39(2):291–314
Frey B. F. (2000a). The Impact of Moral Intensity on Decision Making in a Business Context. Journal of Business Ethics 26:181–195
Frey B. F. (2000b). Investigating Moral Intensity with the World-Wide Web: A Look at Participant Reactions and a Comparison of Methods. Behavior Research Methods, Instruments, and Computers 32:423–431
Hansen R. S. (1992). A Multidimensional Scale for Measuring Business Ethics: A Purification and Refinement. Journal of Business Ethics 11:523–534
Harvey R. J., Billings R. S., Nilan K. J. (1985). Confirmatory Factor Analysis of the Job Diagnostic Survey: Good News and Bad News. Journal of Applied Psychology 70:461–468
Harvey R. J., Murry W. D. (1994). Scoring the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator: Empirical Comparison of Preference Score versus Latent-trait Methods. Journal of Personality Assessment 62:116–129
Henthorne T. L., LaTour M. S. (1995). A Model to Explore the Ethics of Erotic Stimuli in Print Advertising. Journal of Business Ethics 14:561–569
Humphreys N., Robin D. P., Reidenbach R. E., Moak D. L. (1993). The Ethical Decision Making Process of Small Business Owner/Managers and Their Customers. Journal of Small Business Management 31:9–22
Hunt S. D., Vitell S. (1986). A General Theory of Marketing Ethics. Journal of Macromarketing 6:5–16
Jones T. M. (1991). Ethical Decision Making by Individuals in Organizations: An Issue-Contingent Model. Academy of Management Review 16:366–395
Kujala J. (2001). A Multidimensional Approach to Finnish Managers’ Moral Decision-Making. Journal of Business Ethics 34:231–254
LaFleur E. K., Reidenbach R. E., Robin D. P., Forrest P. J. (1996). An Exploration of Rule Configuration Effects on the Ethical Decision Processes of Advertising Professionals. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science 24:66–76
LaTour M. S., Henthorne T. L. (1994). Ethical Judgments of Sexual Appeals in Print Advertising. Journal of Advertising 23:81–90
Lee H. B., Comrey A. L. (1979). Distortions in a Commonly Used Factor Analytic Procedure. Multivariate Behavioral Research 14:301–321
Linn R. L. (1968). A Monte Carlo Approach to the Number of Factors Problem. Psychometrika 33(1):37–71
Loo R. (2004). Support for Reidenbach and Robin’s (1990) Eight-item Multidimensional Ethics Scale. The Social Science Journal 41:289–294
McMahon J. M., Harvey R. J. (2006). An Analysis of the Factor Structure of Jones’ Moral Intensity Construct. Journal of Business Ethics 64:381–404
Morris S. A., McDonald R. A. (1995). The Role of Moral Intensity in Moral Judgments: An Empirical Investigation. Journal of Business Ethics 14:715–726
Razzaque M. A., Hwee T. P. (2002). Ethics and Purchasing Dilemma: A Singaporean View. Journal of Business Ethics 35:307–326
Reidenbach R. E., Robin D. P. (1988). Some Initial Steps Toward Improving the Measurement of Ethical Evaluations of Marketing Activities. Journal of Business Ethics 7:871–879
Reidenbach R. E., Robin D. P. (1990). Toward the Development of a Multidimensional Scale for Improving Evaluations of Business EthRoics. Journal of Business Ethics 9:639–653
Reidenbach R. E., Robin D. P., Dawson L. (1991). An Application and Extension of a Multidimensional Ethics Scale to Selected Marketing Practices and Marketing Groups. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science 19(2):83–92
Rest J. R. (1986). Moral Development: Advances in Research and Theory. Praeger, New York
Robin D. P., King, E. W., Reidenbach R. E. (1996). The Effect of Attorneys’ Perceived Duty to Client on Their Ethical Decision Making Process. American Business Law Journal 34:277–299
Robin D. P., Reidenbach R. E., Babin B. J. (1997). The Nature, Measurement, and Stability of Ethical Judgments in the Workplace. Psychological Reports 80:563–580
Samejima F. (1969). Estimation of Latent Ability using a Response Pattern of Graded Scores. Psychometrika Monograph Supplement 34 (4, Pt. 2)
Simpson P. M., Brown G., Widing R. E. II. (1998). The Association of Ethical Judgment of Advertising and Selected Advertising Effectiveness Response Variables. Journal of Business Ethics 17:125–136
Snipes R. L., LaTour M. S., Bliss S. J. (1999). A Model of the Effects of Self-efficacy on the Perceived Ethicality and Performance of Fear Appeals in Advertising. Journal of Business Ethics 19:273–285
Street M. D., Douglas S. C., Geiger S. W., Martinko M. J. (2001). The Impact of Cognitive Expenditure on the Ethical Decision-making Process: The Cognitive Elaboration Model. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes 86:256–277
Tansey R., Brown G., Hyman M. R., Dawson L. E. Jr. (1994). Personal Moral Philosophies and the Moral Judgments of Salespeople. Journal of Personal Selling and Sales Manager 14:59–75
Tansey R., Hyman M. R., Brown G. (1992). Ethical Judgments About Wartime ads Depicting Combat. Journal of Advertising 21:57–74
Tsalikis J., Ortiz-Buonafina M. (1990). Ethical Beliefs’ Differences of Males and Females. Journal of Business Ethics 9:509–517
Tsalikis J., Seaton B., Shepherd P. L. (2001). Relativism in Ethical Research: A Proposed Model and Mode of Inquiry. Journal of Business Ethics 32:231–246
Tucker L.R., Koopman R.F., Linn R.L. (1969). Evaluation of Factor Analytic Research Procedures by Means of Simulated Correlation Matrices. Psychometrika 34(4):421–459
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Joan M. McMahon is an Assistant Professor of Management in the School of Business at Christopher Newport University, teaching courses in Organizational Behavior, Leadership, and Human Resources. She has a B.A. in Speech from the State University of New York, College at Oneonta; an M.Ed. In Early Childhood Education from James Madison University; and an M.S. and Ph.D. in Industrial/Organizational Psychology from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.
Robert J. Harvey is an Associate Professor of Psychology at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. He has a B.A. in Psychology and an M.A. in Experimental Psychology from the University of Missouri at Kansas City, and a Ph.D. in Industrial/Organizational Psychology from Ohio State University. Dr. Harvey has authored a number of articles in the Journal of Applied Psychology, the Journal of Personality Assessment, Personnel Psychology, and others. He is the author of the chapter on job analysis in the Handbook of Industrial and Organizational Psychology.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
McMahon, J.M., Harvey, R.J. Psychometric Properties of the Reidenbach–Robin Multidimensional Ethics Scale. J Bus Ethics 72, 27–39 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-006-9153-y
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-006-9153-y