The Associations of Spirituality, Adversity Quotient and Ethical Decision Making of Accounting Managers in the Contexts of Financial Management and Corporate Social Responsibility

Abstract

The objectives of this study are to explore the associations and interactions of spirituality, the adversity quotient (AQ), and the ethical decision making (EDM) of accounting managers in the contexts of financial management and corporate social responsibility. Additionally, the study aims to evaluate the predictive roles of spirituality and the adversity quotient (AQ) on their ethical decision making. A self-administered questionnaire was utilised to collect data from 510 accounting managers via the quantitative approach. The research results provide empirical evidence that the spiritual wellbeing (SWB) and AQ of accounting managers are positively correlated with EDM. In particular, the personal–communal domain of SWB is a significant predictor of moral equity, contractualism, egoism and deontology, whilst the environmental domain of SWB is a significant predictor of contractualism, utilitarianism, egoism and deontology. In terms of demographics, religion is a significant predictor of moral equity and deontology, whilst the origin and ownership dimension of AQ is a significant predictor of moral equity, contractualism, egoism and deontology. The control and reach dimensions of AQ are a significant predictor of moral equity respectively. Overall, individual characteristics, personal values, beliefs, interpersonal relationships and the environmental domain of SWB significantly influence EDM among accounting managers.