Title: Business ethics in SMEs: an empirical study of selected units of Haryana

Authors: Tejinder Sharma; Manisha Dudeja

Addresses: Department of Commerce, Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra-136118, Haryana, India ' S.D. (P.G) College, Panipat-132103, Haryana, India

Abstract: Businesses over many, find themselves caught between the two seemingly contradictory goals of earning profits for business and running the business with ethical perspective. Failure of giants like WorldCom, Enron and Satyam have proved that unethical conduct will bring the collapse of the business one day. Most of the large scale corporations have recognised the importance of business ethics and have included the ethical code of conduct not only in their books but also in their business operations. This paper attempts to find out the perception and practices regarding business ethics in the small and medium scale enterprises of Haryana, India. The study also attempts to understand the decision making processes of the owners/managers of these units. Results reveal that business ethics is still in native stage in these units, and the personal ethics of the owners/managers guide their decision making.

Keywords: business ethics; decision making process; individual factors; situational factors; small and medium-sized enterprises; SMEs; SME ethics; ethical behaviour; India.

DOI: 10.1504/IJICBM.2013.056210

International Journal of Indian Culture and Business Management, 2013 Vol.7 No.3, pp.307 - 323

Published online: 30 Nov 2013 *

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