Title: Women business owners in international trade: ethical issues, response strategies and moral progress

Authors: Allan Riding, Rosangela Coscarella, Barbara Orser, Judith Madill

Addresses: School of Management, University of Ottawa, 136 Jean-Jacques Lussier, Ottawa, ON, K1N 6N5, Canada. ' Eric Sprott School of Business, Carleton University, Ottawa, ON, K1S 5B6, Canada. ' School of Management, University of Ottawa, 136 Jean-Jacques Lussier, Ottawa, ON, K1N 6N5, Canada. ' University of Ottawa, 136 Jean-Jacques Lussier, Ottawa, ON, K1N 6N5, Canada

Abstract: An important dimension of moral progress relates to expansion of the moral community. Globalisation, especially international trade, provides one means of exchanging values and principals as well as goods and services. This paper examines gender and ethical challenges faced by women business owners engaged in exporting. It documents the types of ethical challenges they face and compares such challenges with those described in earlier work. The most frequently cited ethical issues were associated with gender and equity. Bribery was not a significant issue. The paper also documents the strategies the women business owners employed to resolve the ethical and gender issues they encountered. It is found that the strategies are in accord with those advanced by other researchers. Owners used both organisational integrity and legal compliance strategies to address ethical issues.

Keywords: moral progress; ethics; women business owners; international trade; gender; exporting; globalisation; female entrepreneurs; entrepreneurship.

DOI: 10.1504/IJESB.2008.017395

International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Small Business, 2008 Vol.6 No.1, pp.133 - 154

Published online: 04 Mar 2008 *

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