The 'holier-than-thou' perception bias of business workers and business students in Indonesia

The perception bias of 'holier-than-thou' will lead individuals to perceive themselves as more ethical than other individuals when faced with ethical issues. In the world of business practice, this bias is dangerous because it leads to the encouragement of an unethical organisational culture. This study aims to test if a holier-than-thou perception bias arises using whistleblowing scenarios and earnings management scenarios. The respondents are graduates of the economics faculty who have worked, as well as economics faculty students who are in college. The results show that, overall, perception bias arises. Interestingly, it was found that a holier-than-thou perception bias is more prevalent in females and those who have worked, especially in the whistleblowing scenario. This research has succeeded in providing empirical evidence to suggest that a holier-than-thou perception bias is especially likely to occur in companies that often experience ethical issues.