Cultural differences and moral intensity: an empirical analysis of South American values

Purpose Although many scholars have studied the relationship between cultural values and ethical decision-making cross-nationally, there has been a lack of focus in the literature on causal factors of moral lapses. The purpose of this paper is to bridge this gap by examining the relationship between cultural differences, moral intensity and ethical decision-making. Design/methodology/approach The authors build a mega-level, cross-cultural data set from three sources (including Latin Barometer), representing data collected over 20 years from 18 Latin American countries, to test the hypotheses. Findings Results suggest higher levels of both proximity and social consensus lead to higher levels of moral decision-making. These relationships are strengthened (positively moderated) when a country’s culture is more restraint-oriented. Moreover, the relationship between social consensus and moral decision-making is strengthened (positively moderated) when a country’s culture is more collectivist-oriented. Originality/value This research focuses on the oft-overlooked South American cross-cultural context and uses national-level longitudinal data to study ethical decision-making. The significant results serve as a call for the use of more complex and multidimensional approaches in empirically testing cross-national differences and offers insights for research and organizational policy and practice in enhancing ethical outcomes.