Ethical sensitivity to stakeholder interests: A cross-cultural comparison

This study applied Hofstede's typology to examine the effect of culture on ethical sensitivity toward various stake-holders. It was found that uncerta inty avoidance had a positive effect and that power distance and individual ism/ masculinity had negative effects on ethical sensitivity. The results a lso indicated that ethical sensitivity to stakeholder interests is dependen t on which stakeholder is affected. Although Americans and Taiwanese sales agents were equally sensitive to customer interests, the Taiwanese were mor e sensitive to the interests of their company and a competitor bur were les s sensitive to the interests of a colleague. This study should prove valuab le to international marketers because the cultural typology allows managers to identify differences in work-related values of employees across differe nt nationalities and thus provides a theoretical base for designing more ef fective sales management practices.