Explaining Unethical Business Decisions: The role of personality, environment, and states

A trait-environment-state model of Unethical Business Decisions was developed and tested in two studies in a Pacific Islands setting (i.e., Fiji and the Marshall Islands). In Study 1 (N = 212), we conceptualized and operationalized the environment using two situational variables named 'Perceived Environmental Corruption' (PEC) and 'Perceived Environmental Normativeness' (PEN). Both environmental variables were (respectively positively and negatively) related to Unethical Business Decisions through the states Felt Lure, Perceived Risk, and (to a lesser extent) Negative Affect. In Study 2 (N = 235), we replicated these findings and additionally showed that HEXACO Honesty-Humility was negatively related to Unethical Business Decisions through Felt Lure and Negative Affect. Furthermore, an interaction between Honesty-Humility and Perceived Environmental Corruption on Felt Lure was observed, indicating that the negative relation between Honesty-Humility and Felt Lure was stronger when the environment was perceived to afford corruption than when it was not.