Within culture differences and responses to ethical dilemmas: A study of Thai managers and professionals

In this study, we examine the influence of within culture differences on responses to ethical dilemmas. The study, undertaken on a sample of Thai managers and professionals working in a German Multinational Corporation in Thailand, used five self-report measures to assess within cultural differences relevant to the Thai context: how religious one is, how important religion is as an influence on one’s work behaviour, how important Kreng Jai (mutual obligation and consideration) is as an influence on one’s work behaviour, how important the concept of patron-client relationship is as an influence on one’s work behaviour, and how Thai (as opposed to Western) one’s work values are. Participant responses for seven scenarios were obtained. The scenarios comprised five scenarios used in previous studies of ethical behaviour and two scenarios developed to illustrate ethical dilemmas that may arise due to the Thai cultural characteristics of patron-client relationships and Kreng Jai. Three multiple regression analyses, one for each dependent variable, were conducted, enabling assessment of the influence of each of the five independent variables adjusting for the effect of the others. Findings suggest that the likelihood of performing the unethical behaviour illustrated by the scenario was influenced only by the extent to which one reported holding Thai (rather than Western) work values. None of the within cultural differences were related to participants’ evaluation of whether their peers would engage in the unethical behaviour. The extent to which participants judged the unethical behaviour as unethical was, however, negatively related to how much participants reported religion to influence their work behaviour. Limitations and implications of the research are discussed.