Machiavellianism, support for CESR, and attitudes towards environmental responsibility amongst undergraduate students
Document Type
Journal article
Source Publication
International Journal of Ethics Education
Publication Date
6-26-2017
Volume
Advance online publication
Publisher
Springer
Keywords
Machiavellianism, CESR, PRESOR, Environmental responsibility
Abstract
This study investigates the relationships among Machiavellianism, attitudes towards the perceived importance of corporate ethics and social responsibility (CESR), referred to here as PRESOR attitudes, and certain attitudes toward environmental responsibility, i.e., (1) support for corporate environmental accountability and (2) environmentally motivated purchasing intentions, amongst undergraduate students. Data were collected from a survey of all final year undergraduate students at a university in Hong Kong. Structural equations analyses were used to investigate the associations amongst the variables. The study finds that Machiavellianism and belief in the importance of CESR play important roles in the development of university students’ attitudes toward certain environmental issues. Specifically, high Machiavellian students expressed lower levels of belief in the importance of CESR, which in turn were associated with weaker pro-environment views. The findings suggest that educational efforts to cultivate students’ PRESOR attitudes and/or reduce their levels of Machiavellianism would enhance their pro-environment views.
DOI
10.1007/s40889-017-0041-3
Print ISSN
23639997
E-ISSN
23640006
Funding Information
The authors acknowledge assistance from a Lingnan University Business Faculty Research Grant
Publisher Statement
Copyright © 2017 Springer. Access to external full text or publisher's version may require subscription.
Full-text Version
Publisher’s Version
Language
English
Recommended Citation
Simmons, R. S., & Snell, R. S. (2017). Machiavellianism, support for CESR, and attitudes towards environmental responsibility amongst undergraduate students. International Journal of Ethics Education. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1007/s40889-017-0041-3