Dedman School of Hospitality, College of Business, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida, 32306-2541, USA; Tel: +1 850 644 8241; Fax: +1 850 644 5565; Email: rbrymer@fsu.edu

Revised 17 May 2005.

Abstract

This study focuses on how students at European hotel schools respond to ten ethical scenarios. Participants indicated whether the action posed was ethical, not ethical or not a question of ethics. Further, they indicated several factors influencing their ethical beliefs. Responses from students from European countries were compared to responses of students from Asian countries. The top three factors influencing both groups were parents, close friends and management courses. Only two of the ten scenarios were evaluated differently by the two groups.