Perceptions of Ethical Climate as against Entrepreneurial values: Perspectives of Sri Lankan Entrepreneurs

Abstract

Business and society are symbiotic and mutually adaptive systems of the world. Society grants legitimacy and power to business which infers inherited immense powers. However, there are many allegations that are directed at the business community because they have used such power in their own interests devoid of ethics and this eventually harms the said relationship between business and society. Therefore the reflection on ethics in business practices has become a paradox. This paper explores the ethical climate against entrepreneurial values. While entrepreneurial values were measured through six variables, ethical climate of business was examined on three moral approaches, as egoistic, utilitarian, and deontological ethical climates. Both quantitative and qualitative methods were adopted. The results of SEM explored that positive path coefficient between the entrepreneurial values and organizational ethical climate. Results reveal that Sri Lankan businesses possessed and practice in a mixture of ethical climates. A deontological ethical climate contributes most than the other two. Qualitative insights explored that most of the entrepreneurs were energized with their inner values and therefore, diverse forms of relationships existed between the entrepreneurs and their businesses in terms of profit, efficiency, self- interest, customers, employees, team work, values and rules and regulations. The findings contribute to decision makers at an organizational level and policy level to rethink and establish a mechanism to improve the ethical aspects of the business to maximize social wellbeing of the country while doing the right things for society. Further these findings contribute to the entrepreneurial community in determining and re-evaluating the ethics of their existing practices.