The role of culture and nationality in ethical business decisions

Bachelor Thesis from the year 2017 in the subject Business economics - Business Management, Corporate Governance, grade: 1,3, University of Cologne, language: English, abstract: This thesis summarises how descriptive ethical research has so far treated cultural differences between Confucian-influenced and Anglo-American countries as well as globally in its analysis of ethical business decisions by looking at firms¿ CSR behaviour. It analyses empirical studies and summarises how and to what extend national culture was found to influence firms¿ CSR practices. It tries to answer the following questions: What is Confucian-influenced and Anglo-American business culture? How was culture measured? Which cultural dimensions affect CSR behaviour and how? Are there contradicting findings? Can a prescriptive conclusion be drawn?

It starts by outlining cultural aspects of Confucian-influenced and Anglo-American (ethical) business culture. The third chapter summarises the designs, operationalization of variables and findings of cross-cultural studies and the fourth chapter critically discusses these studies and their findings to derive suggestions for practitioners. The fifth chapter draws a conclusion.