National Culture and Ethical Climates: A Comparison of U.S. and Japanese Accounting Firms

We investigated the effects of Japanese and U.S national cultures on ethical climates within accounting organizations. We hypothesized that national cultural differences would lead to the observation of different ethical climates. Results support the national culture hypothesis for the principled climates. However, contrary to expectations based on national culture arguments for egoism and benevolence, our findings suggest that key institutional factors, specifically the accounting institutional rules and regulations, lead to differences in ethical climates.