An empirical investigation of cultural differences in ethical decision making among U.S. auditing students

An exploratory study was conducted of cultural differences in ethical decisionmaking among Caucasian, Asian, and Hispanic accounting students attending U.S. universities. Students' responses to three ethical vignettes provided evidence of significant cultural variation in ethical judgments and self-reported behavioral intentions. Specifically, we found significant differences between the ethical judgments and intentions of Asian and Caucasian students. The ethical decisions of the Hispanic and Caucasian students generally did not differ. Gender differences were also significant in some cases, but their direction did not follow a consistent pattern.