Ethical behaviour, Hong Kong business executives and the Chinese business environment

In recent years, ethical behaviour and leadership have emerged as an important area of practice and study in relatively developed economies. Ethical leadership has been found to influence the behaviour and performance of others with positive impact in firms and companies. However, much less is known about the influence of the Chinese business context on the dimensions of ethical leadership or whether this is possible in practice. This study seeks to extend knowledge on the extent to which ethical leadership is or can be practiced by Hong Kong business executives operating in the People's Republic of China (PRC). It does so through interviewing four business executives from different industries who have had experience working in both mainland China and in Hong Kong. Ethical leadership is explored in relation to a cultural context which differs in important respects between the mainland and Hong Kong. It focuses on the difficulties the executives thus face and how they seek to resolve these. In addition, this study also reviews the antecedents of the executives on the context of the history that brought about difference between the mainland and Hong Kong. Finally, it is hoped that insights from the study can benefit those now working in the PRC or intending to launch business ventures there.