Abstract:
The aim of this article is to investigate the
interactions between values and ethics of Sri
Lankan entrepreneurs in order to discuss
why the entrepreneurs follow their own set
of values and also examine the reality
behind their actual practices in business
context in Sri Lanka. Quantitative approach
was employed to capture holistic nature of
entrepreneurs‟ behavior in terms of value
concern and ethical concern. Three hundred
entrepreneurs were surveyed to determine
their value priorities and ethical concerns.
Ethical practice of business is analyzed
based on egoistic moral approach and it is
assessed with twelve items developed
around the aspect of self-interest, profit, and
efficiency. Value construct examined
through three dimensions: entrepreneurial
attributes, contextualized values and
defensive values. The results of SEM
explored that positive path coefficient
between the entrepreneurial values and
organizational ethical concerns. Results
reveal that significant and positive impact of
entrepreneurial attributes on egoistic ethical
concern and it is evident that ethical
concerns of business increases in terms of
profit, efficiency and self-interest when the
entrepreneurs bring their values in to the
business practice. Further these findings
contribute to the entrepreneurs to revisit and
rethink the ethical concerns of their existing
practices.
