Is All That Glitters Gold? Exploring Sustainability and Business Ethics Education in Ethics-friendly Environments

Elies Seguí-Mas*, Guillermina Tormo-Carbó, Throstur Olaf Sigurjonsson, Audur Arna Arnardottir

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articleResearchpeer-review

Abstract

Purpose
This study aims to identify students’ perceptions of the importance and objectives of sustainability and business ethics education, considering contextual factors (ethics-friendly environments) and including the social desirability (SD) bias to strengthen data robustness and assess response truthfulness.

Design/methodology/approach
A survey was administered to 170 business students at an Icelandic university to measure their attitudes and perceptions toward sustainability and business ethics courses. Descriptive statistics, Mann–Whitney tests, χ2 tests and multivariate regression were used for the analysis.

Findings
The results show no significant differences among participants, depending on individual and organizational factors. The authors did not find significant differences in gender, age or exposure to sustainability and business ethics courses concerning social desirability bias. Contextual solid factors can explain these results.

Originality/value
This study expands on previous research by examining students’ perceptions of sustainability and business ethics education in an “ethics-friendly environment” like Iceland, a new and fertile territory for business ethics education research. These elements are crucial for further research on students’ attitudes toward sustainability and business ethics and the role of this subject in university curricula.
Original languageEnglish
JournalInternational Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education
Volume26
Issue number1
Pages (from-to)217-234
Number of pages18
ISSN1467-6370
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2025
Externally publishedYes

Bibliographical note

Published online: 16 July 2024.

Keywords

  • Sustainability
  • Business ethics
  • Higher education
  • Ethics-friendly environments
  • Student perceptions
  • Teaching

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