This paper discusses the creation of an innovation water cluster in the Brazilian Amazon region, capitalizing in the region’s unique global competitive advantage in the development of a water innovation economy. The existence of academic institutions, research agencies, a manufacturing park, and unique natural resources offer the right environment for the creation of this water eco-innovation cluster in the city of Manaus. The development of an innovation economy in the city of Manaus in the Amazon will promote a new cycle of economic development in the region, and induce a new cycle of attraction of environmental technology companies to the Amazon region of Brazil. In addition, it will also address social objectives of the Amazon region, increasing social-economic welfare and promoting eco-competitiveness as a cornerstone of the nation’s economy. This paper outlines a link between cluster theory and a water diamond model with sustainability as its major goal.

The purpose of this paper is to first critique approaches to ethics education based on the application of frameworks and models for ethical decision making. We argue that underlying such approaches is a number of assumptions which fail to fully capture the nature of ethics and the nature of the individual and suggest that when applied in the classroom such would only offer limited possibilities for developing students’ moral and imaginative capacities. The paper then offers an alternative perspective of the nature of the individual and the link between the self and the ethical. Rather than regarding the individual as an autonomous decision maker who sporadically interacts with the ethical domain we, following Dewey, J. (1983, 1987 [Dewey J. Human nature and conduct. Carbondale, IL: Southern Illinois University Press; 1983; Dewey J. Art as experience. Carbondale, IL: Southern Illinois University Press; 1987]) conceive of the individual as a self in the making and suggest a closer nexus between the individual and the ethical. In this paper ethics is seen as permeating all aspects of our lives and always being relevant. For Dewey, imagination is at the core or moral inquiry and based on this perspective we make a case for using literature and stories for ethics education. We discuss the role of fiction in cultivating the moral imagination (Dewey, 1983, 1987; Fesmire, 2003 [Fesmire S. John Dewey and moral imagination: pragmatism in ethics. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press; 2003]), and show why teaching ethics through literature is likely to yield more fruitful results than approaches based solely on frameworks and models.

This article synthesizes research presented in several models of unethical behavior to develop propositions about the factors that facilitate and mitigate deception in online business communications. The work expands the social network perspective to incorporate the medium of communication as a significant influence on deception. We go beyond existing models by developing seven propositions that identify how social network and issue moral intensity characteristics influence the probability of deception in online business communication in comparison to traditional communication channels. Remedies to detect and discourage deception in online business networks are also offered, as well as limitations and future research directions.

Purpose – This paper sets out to discuss white-collar crime and fraud in China and to draw implications for Western businesses wishing to enter the Chinese market.
Design/methodology/approach – The paper provides examples of recent frauds committed in China and also provides a brief review of the literature. It traces the development of China's economy, describing China's modern-day economy, and also looks at cultural issues and differences between Western and Chinese attitudes.
Findings – Western businesses planning to enter the Chinese market need to do their due diligence before committing resources. What works in Western society may not work in another culture, like China's. However, gaining an understanding of the culture and general way of life will go a long way towards laying the groundwork for success.
Research limitations/implications – Additional focus should be placed on examining how cultural differences affect judgments and behaviors.
Originality/value – From a practical standpoint, the paper provides insights into possible areas of disagreement between employees from different cultures that can result from their divergent opinions about individuals' responsibility for fraudulent acts.

Students are placed in the shoes of Harrison, a staff accountant who is faced with the dilemma of whether or not to delete his audit work and disobey a direct order from his immediate superior who was his audit senior. As a staff accountant with just three months experience, one of Harrison’s tasks on this audit assignment was to reconcile the client’s bank accounts. He’d been told by his audit senior, with whom he had previous difficulties, to erase his work papers. On the one hand, he thought that erasing his work didn’t seem the right thing to do and on the other hand, he was concerned that disobeying his managing senior could be insubordination. Harrison was sure, as far as it went, that the work he had done was correct. Still, not one of the reconciliations balanced and now he was faced with the dilemma of what to do. The case also explores the key accounting concept of materiality from both quantitative and qualitative aspects.

Women and men leaders have been noted to be similar in terms of emotional and social competence in the workforce. We analyzed gender differences in self-ratings, others’ ratings, and predicted ratings of men and women leaders on a multi-source feedback assessment of emotional and social competence. Findings revealed that there were significant differences between how leaders were rated on emotional and social competence versus how they predicted they would be rated. Furthermore, results indicated that when asked to predict how they were rated by their managers, direct reports, and peers, women were significantly poorer at predicting others’ ratings compared with men. However, women self-rated their demonstration of emotional and social competence similar to men. Age was investigated, but not found to have an effect on men and women’s predictions of others’ ratings. The article concludes with a discussion of the implications of the findings and areas for future research.

Utilizing Resource-Advantage Theory as the underlying theoretical foundation and drawing on literature from a variety of disciplines, we develop a market-oriented sustainability framework. By incorporating sustainability into market orientation, the goal of strategic alignment of sustainability with marketing strategies is achieved to create a competitive advantage. Three constructs identified in the model are DNA, stakeholder involvement, and performance management. These three constructs are the drivers of sustainability. DNA is used as an extended metaphor to clarify and illustrate the workings of an organization and how sustainability may be implemented. This construct includes core ideology, dynamic capabilities, and societal engagement. The firm’s DNA is communicated to both internal and external stakeholders, and stakeholders’ concerns should be an influence on strategic marketing planning. Performance management is the third major construct in the model and includes corporate social performance and corporate financial performance metrics. Within the model explication, we offer propositions to support market-oriented sustainability research and provide directions for sustainability theory, research, and practice.

This study fills a gap in the extant research by investigating Hispanic business professionals' perception of psychological contract breach, perception of discrimination, and the influence of ethnic identification level on the relationship between these variables. A sample of 122 participants was drawn from an association of Hispanic business professionals. Data were analyzed using a multiple regression analysis that demonstrated a positive relationship between perceived discrimination and psychological contract breach. Additionally Hispanic identification significantly strengthened the relationship as hypothesized. Results suggested that employers should investigate sources of perceived discrimination in order to eliminate potentially harmful predictors of psychological contract breach, therein fulfilling the perceived promises for Hispanic employees.

The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) describes its public interest function as “…developing standards that result in accounting for similar transactions and circumstances in a like manner and different transactions and circumstances…in a different manner (Facts about FASB).” This statement implies that rule-makers possess an expertise that makes analogizing transactions or circumstances to other transactions or circumstances unproblematic. In this paper we utilize two instances of standard-setting, SFAS 123R and SFAS 143, to demonstrate from FASB's analogic reasoning in these cases that similarity and dissimilarity are not so easily ascertained. A judgment about similarity invariably involves ignoring some perspectives of similarity that would lead to substantially different conclusions about the appropriate accounting. We also illustrate via the two examples the inherent value judgments that underlie the conclusions reached by FASB and how these value judgments raise questions about the ethics of the current standard-setting process.