Gender Differences in Computer Ethics among Business Administration Students

Abstract

Because of the various benefits and advantages that computers and the Internet offer, these technologies have become an essential part of our daily life. The dependence on these technologies has been continuously and rapidly increasing. Computers and the Internet use also has become an important part for instructional purposes in academic environments. Even though the pervasive use of computers and the Internet has many benefits for almost everyone, but it has also increased the use of these technologies for illegal purposes or unethical activities such as spamming, making illegal copies of software, violations of privacy, hacking and computer viruses. The main purpose of this study is to explore gender differences in computer ethics among Business Administration students and examine their attitudes towards ethical use of computers. Results from 248 students in the Department of Business Administration at a public university in Turkey reveal that significant differences exist between male and female students’ attitudes towards ethical use of computers.