Applied results

Table 2.3

Fit indices of the models resulting from the AFC

Indices χ 2 / df GFI AGFI CFI RMSEA

constructs Idealism 2,800 0.955 0.908 0.842 0.066

Relativism 1,887 0.970 0.946 0.916 0.047

parameters (Hair et al., 2010) <3.0 ≅ 1.0 ≅ 1.0 ≅ 0.95 < 0.08

3.5.2 Applied results

Having validated the scales, we used the results to analyze the respondents' profiles and the sample as a whole. Table 2.4 presents the sample data.

Table 2.4

The results indicate that 310 respondents present high idealism (76%) and 100 low idealism (24%). On the other scale, 305 respondents present low relativism (74%) and 105 high relativism (26%). The cutoff factor of these indices was 0.734 for idealism and 0.606 for relativism, as we used the same criteria that Forsyth et al. (2008) have used in their meta-analysis (the medians of the population). As a result, the Brazilian sample presented 232 absolutists (57%), 78 situationists (19%), 73 exceptionists (18%), and 27 subjectivists (7%).

Figure 2.1 displays this information.

Figure 2.1. Ethical positions of respondents

3.5.2.2 The comparative result among countries

We used the respondents' total idealism and relativism means to compare the Brazilian score with other countries' scores. Therefore, we considered the information about the countries

0,300

0,100 0,200 0,300 0,400 0,500 0,600 0,700 0,800 0,900

id eal is m

relativism

Absolutists

Exceptionists Subjectivists

Situationists

and regions presented in Table 2.2, assuming the same criterion used by Forsyth et al. (2008), that is, the medians of idealism and relativism found in the meta-analysis, 0.734 and 0.606 respectively. We drew up Figure 2.2 as a reproduction of the ethical positions of each nation.

Figure 2.2. Ethical positions by country

The information available places Brazil as the 4th most idealistic country, after Northern Ireland, Spain, and Brunei. Regarding relativism, Brazil was ranked as the third least relativistic country, behind only Canada and South Africa. Finally, these data suggest Brazil occupies an ethical orientation of absolutist compared to other nations.

3.6 Conclusions

As demonstrated in the literature review, the EPQ has been widely used to measure and understand the individual ethical system. Despite this, Brazil, which is lagging in business ethics studies, was not included in the international meta-analysis of the EPQ (Forsyth et al., 2008). This study sought to fill this gap. Our research satisfactorily translated, adapted, applied, and confirmed the idealism and relativism scales.

The applied results of the scales revealed a mostly "absolutist" profile of the individuals surveyed. They presented, on average, high idealism and low relativism in comparison to the international medians. As a result, we supported the three hypotheses predicted (H1, H2, and H3). The Brazilian sample appeared very significantly in the international context, highlighting its absolutist orientation.

Indeed, despite the necessary caution in the interpretation of results due to sample limitations, Brazil's ethics position exceeded expectations. As we have seen, scholars associated idealism with correct behavior, and relativism with unethical behavior (Ismail & Yuhanis, 2018;

Sidani et al., 2014; Clouse et al., 2017). Therefore, we would expect Brazil to be a country with comparatively low rates of corruption, based on the relative scores that it has presented.

However, Brazil ranks 106th in the integrity index and is part of the group of the most corrupt countries in the world (Transparency International, 2020). Thus, if Brazil is "high idealistic"

and "low relativistic" on one side, it shows itself as a highly corrupt country at the same time, an apparently contradictory result.

Possibly this result is due to what Filgueiras (2009) called "an antinomy between moral norms and social practice" (p. 386, our translation). According to the author:

"There is a practical willingness of the Brazilian to get involved in schemes of corruption, which contrasts with their moral configuration. We (Brazilians) are able to mutually agree on certain moral values; yet we tolerate some corruption, because it refers to a cultural capital that renders corruption a latent, everyday occurrence, of an extremely flexible nature, and applicable in disparate situations." (pp. 416-417, our translation).

Garcia and Teodósio (2020), in a comparative study with other countries, have identified several factors that point to the peculiarity of systemic corruption in Brazil, a case that does not fit perfectly in another historical example. They noted, therefore, that the problem of corruption in Brazil is effectively complex.

Out research sought to provide information on the ethical profile of Brazilian workers.

We expect that the results presented will contribute to further research that aims to unveil the ethical profile of Brazilians and explain their relationships with culture, religion, traditions, and other Brazilian circumstances. Additionally, we expect business ethics in Brazil to be more widely appreciated and developed. Thus, it will be possible to better understand Brazil's ethical question, allowing the development of public policies to address the issue of corruption in Brazilian public-private organizations.

3.7 Limitations

The methodology used in this study has limitations. The sample used cannot be considered representative of Brazil. However, we used the same criterion as Forsyth et al.

(2008) to compare countries. In the absence of other information, we used the available data, aware of the limitations imposed and the caution with which we should analyze the comparative results. Thus, although we have made comparisons with scores from other countries, the international comparison results cannot be generalized. Another limitation is that the sample was composed exclusively of public employees. Indeed, there may be specific biases that we have not captured. Thus, to confirm our results, new studies should be conducted. One possibility is to research idealism and relativism in private companies, which would also permit a comparison of national results between the public and private sectors.

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demographic groups

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to examine latent mean differences in idealism and relativism between groups according to six variables: age, gender, education, ethics training, career type, and leadership position. We used the Ethics Position Questionnaire (Forsyth, 1980) to survey 410 coworkers. Multi-Group Confirmatory Factor Analysis (MGCFA) was used to confirm the measurement invariance (MI) and to analyze latent mean differences. The results show no gender differences in idealism and relativism latent means. Some other peculiarities appeared when we analyzed the remaining five variables. The MGCFA revealed that, out of the six variables, idealism was only invariant in two analyses and that relativism was invariant in four.

These results have many implications. Among other things, they show that several conclusions from previous EPQ demographic studies may be biased and do not reliably report the equivalences or differences between analysis groups.

Keywords: idealism; relativism; measurement invariance; demographic variables

4.1 Introduction

The Ethics Position Questionnaire (EPQ) has been used for decades, and several studies have examined demographic variations between groups. Nevertheless, most of these studies did not look at the measurement invariance (MI) of the constructs before comparing the group means (e.g., Marques & Azevedo-Pereira, 2009; Oumlil & Balloun, 2009; Wang & Calvano, 2015; Godos-Díez et al., 2015; Kour, 2017; White et al., 2018).

comparing groups using one psychometric instrument. In the words of Sass (2011, p. 1):

"The popularity of invariance (or equivalence) testing within the structural equation modeling (SEM) literature has increased exponentially over the past decade, especially as it relates to measurement invariance (MI) and testing for latent mean differences (Vandenberg & Lance, 2000). One reason for this is greater awareness by researchers that parameter estimates (latent factor means or structural coefficients) cannot reasonably be compared across groups when measures are noninvariant."

Thus, although several studies have reached conclusions regarding demographic variations of idealism and relativism, it is well known today that many of these conclusions may have been skewed, given that the psychometric instrument MI was not evaluated among the studied groups. This study seeks to fill this gap. Therefore, we choose six demographic variables to perform MI analyses and to test mean differences when it proved to be free from bias.

Thus, this research performed a survey with employees from a Brazilian organization, applying Forsyth's scales of idealism and relativism (1980). After the scales were validated and confirmed, we ran Multi-Group Confirmatory Factor Analysis (MGCFA) to examine idealism and relativism according to other variables such as age, gender, education, ethics training, career type, and leadership position.

We chose MGCFA for latent mean comparison between groups as it has proven to be a suitable technique for this objective (Byrne, 2010). MGCFA, among other methods, enables us to find the MI of an instrument amongst samples and validates the comparison of a construct in groups before comparing their means (Sass, 2011). This analysis is particularly appropriate for latent mean comparisons between groups and is demonstrably more robust than others commonly implemented, such as the T-test, ANOVA, MANOVA, Mann-Whitney, and Kruskal-Wallis (Damásio, 2013).

4.2 Literature Review