Ethical behaviour and honesty in post-Soviet business environment

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyse generational differences with regard to honest behaviour and honesty as a personal value in post-Soviet business environment: in Estonia and Latvia. Design/methodology/approach In total, 781 service employees from six retail organizations in Estonia and Latvia were surveyed to assess likelihood of dishonest behaviour and to rank their values according to the Rokeach instrumental value scale. Findings Older generations report higher likelihood of honest behaviour than younger generations. Post-war and early generation X, born between 1945 and 1970, also rate honesty and responsibility higher as their individual values. Originality/value The complexity of generational differences in ethical behaviour and honesty as a personal value has not been widely researched in post-Soviet business environment.