Business Ethics of Pakistanis in Islamabad and Lahore: Do Age, Gender and Data Collection Processes Make a Difference?

Abstract

Pakistan is an emerging economy and a modernizing workplace. This research surveyed 318 citizens, managers, and employees in Lahore and Islamabad to measure their Personal Business Ethics Scores (PBES) based on age and gender, as well as to see if face-to-face and online data collection processes make a difference in their level of ethical maturity. Furthermore, this study contributes to the theory of moral development. The results suggest that age is a significant factor in moral development as it leads to higher scores in moral maturity. Gender is not a factor in the ethical maturity scores of these respondents. Kohlberg’s moral development theory regarding ethical maturity is supported since those who were older do have higher business ethics scores. Furthermore, significant differences were found based on the data collection process. These results can be helpful for human resources managers and expatriates who work in these cities with local professionals. Suggestions and implications are discussed.