The authors offer a new conceptual model of (business) ethics that seeks to be free of cultural bias based on resolving the competing demands of the actors through dilemma reconciliation.

Revisiting the Trompenaars’ cultural databases leads us to report that a detailed analysis of our quantitative and qualitative data (and extant critical literature) in relation to dilemmas of cross-cultural business ethics reveals that extant knowledge in relation to business ethics is still culturally biased and mainly ignores differences in value systems and value orientations.

Ethnocentrism is not easy to avoid. Too great an emphasis on rational-analytic conceptions of reality may mean that syntheses, emotion, and intuition, are not adequately developed. This presents implications for doing business and managing across cultures and for resolving ethical dilemmas. Different cultures often define integrity and ethical behaviour differently. Definitions for a business ethics guide might work in a single culture but what to do when cultures meet in multi-cultural environments? In this paper we are suggesting that integrity is creating wholeness through the integration of opposites. Something not taught at educational institutions Exploring the continuous and longitudinal extensive research and consulting on culture for business by Trompenaars and his team, the authors have jointly published a diverse range of models and findings between linkages between culture and a wide range of business and management arenas. The extensive data collection and development of new conceptual models, in conjunction with supervising PhD students and consulting practice, provides evidence-driven validity for the authors claims proposed herein. As of 2024, we now have 83,000 dilemmas captured in our dilemma database that informs this research.