Differences in ethical beliefs, intentions, and behaviors: The role of beliefs and intentions in ethics research revisited

Using the Ajzen's Theory of Planned Behavior and Kohlberg's Theory of Moral Development, we look at individual beliefs (What should I do?), intention (What would I do?), and actual behaviors (What did I do?) and the rationale used in each instance. Ten of twelve hypotheses are strongly supported and two are moderately supported. This data set shows that significant differences exist between belief and action, belief and intention, and intention and action and the rationales used to support belief, intention, and action differ from one another. Implications for academic research and managerial practice are discussed and research limitations are examined.