Exploring Ethical Incidents In The Taiwanese Hotel Industry

ABSTRACTPurpose: This study attempts to explore and identify critical ethical incidents encountered by senior managers employed in international hotels in Taiwan.Design/methodology/approach: An in-depth interview was conducted to collect data from 22 senior managers. By using the critical incident technique (CIT) to analyze the interview data, 161 critical ethical incidents were identified and discussed.Findings: The analytical results show that the identified ethical incidents can be divided into 3 main categories, 7 sub-categories, and 13 underlying factors. The main and sub-categories include: (1) personal issues: personal integrity, executive leadership, and customer equity; (2) organizational issues: corporate integrity, organizational climate, and cross-cultural management; (3) external issues: customer integrity.Practical implications: Currently in Taiwanese hotels, ethics are not generally emphasized by management. The results of this research can contribute to hospitality ethics research and prov...