THE INFLUENCE OF MONEY ATTITUDES ON ETHICAL CHOICES: EVIDENCE FROM POSTGRADUATE STUDENTS IN ZIMBABWE

Abstract

This study examines how individuals’ cognition about money influences their consequent money attitudes. The money attitude and its dimensions being high cognitive component of money (money success), high behavioral component of money (money budget) and higher affective component of money (money gold). Thus, in this study, all these dimensions are analysed for their effect on business ethics which has got 4 (four) dimensions, to be precise: amoral values; rule bound behavior; personal attributes; and self-interests. The study population are all postgraduate students in the faculty of Business Sciences at Midlands State University and convenience sampling method was applied in order to arrive at a sample size of 500 respondents. Data was collected using the electronically distributed questionnaire through use of google forms, and was cleaned, coded and entered into Stata data analysis software. In order to examine the effect of money-attitude dimensions on business ethics, multiple regression analysis was performed and hypothesis testing was also done. Regarding the high cognitive component about money and business ethics, the study established positive relationships between having a high cognitive component about money (money as a symbol of success), and all business ethics dimensions (high amoral values; having higher personal ethical attributes; having a higher self-interest business ethics attribute; and having a higher self-interest business ethics attribute). It therefore means that postgraduate students who consider money as a symbol of success are likely to engage in all the aforementioned business ethics dimensions. The results also revealed that Postgraduate students who consider money as a resource that should be budgeted for (money budget) are likely to have amoral values

(positive relationship) and are likely to adhere to rule bound behaviour (positive relationship). However, still on that, money budget has got no effect on one’s personal attributes towards business ethics, as well as no effect one’s selfinterests attitude towards business ethics. Lastly, the study found out that when students consider money as evil it does not affect; their amoral business ethics (no relationship); their rule bound behavior (no relationship); their personal attributes attitude towards business ethics (no relationship), and it also reduces self-interests behavior in business among postgraduate students (negative relationship).