The International Business Ethics Index: Asian Emerging Economies John Tsalikis Bruce Seaton Tiger Li ABSTRACT. The systematic measurement of consumersÕ sentiments toward business ethical practices is expanded to two emerging economies in Asia (China and India). The Chinese were very optimistic about the future ethical behavior of businesses, while the Indians recorded the lowest BEI scores yet. Chinese consumers were very concerned with product issues, while Indians were concerned equally about low quality products and excessive prices. KEY WORDS: business ethics, consumer sentiments, business ethics index, BEI, China, India Introduction The business ethics index (BEI) was developed in the U.S. to systematically evaluate consumersÕ sentiments toward business ethical practices (Tsalikis and Seaton, 2006, 2007a). As an initial step in the international arena, the BEI was expanded to the European Union – UK, Spain, and Germany (Tsalikis and Seaton, 2007b). The choice of the EU was based on the similarity of culture and methodology, in addition to the regionÕs economic importance. However, of more long-term importance might be the two emerging Asian giants – China and India. Brown (2002) predicts that ‘‘the next 100 years will be the ÔChinese Century,Õ when the entrepreneurial spirit of over one billion people will be unleashed and China will become the dominant global economic power’’ (p. 219). The same could be argued for India with a population of over 1 billion people. In the same vein, Koh (2004), quoting B.L. DeMenteÕs book, said: What one billion new, hungry Chinese consumers could mean to the world, politically as well as economically, staggers the imagination. And even though the China market that exists today is only a fraction of the full potential, it is already exercising an influence that, like gravity, is felt around the world. There is no doubt that the Chinese people today are more interested in consumerism than in communism... and with its population count at more than 1.2 billion in July, 2003 and growing at about 14 million each year, it wonÕt be long before the basically feudalistic- communist country turns into an economic power- house of the Far East (p.18). Similarly, according to The Economist (October 21, 2006), the countries that have really driven the world economy since 2001 were the Asian countries – with China having the most GDP growth, followed by Singapore, India, and Hong Kong. 1 The Economist argues that this unrealized power of Asian consumers might mitigate the effects of any slow- down in the American economy. Measuring the BEI in China and India presented various challenges stemming from four sets of issues: John Tsalikis is an Associate Professor of Marketing at Florida International University. His articles have appeared in the Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Journal of Business Ethics, and Psychology in Marketing. Bruce Seaton is an Associate Professor of Marketing at Florida International University. His research interests include the role of national stereotyping in consumer choice and the ap- plication of experimental methods to investigate models of business ethics. His articles have appeared in the Journal of Advertising, Journal of Business Research, and Journal of Global Marketing. Tiger Li is an Associate Professor of Marketing at Florida In- ternational University. His research interests are in the areas of international market entry strategies, product innovation, and organizational learning behavior. His articles have ap- peared in Journal of International Marketing, Journal of Marketing, Journal of Marketing Education, and Interna- tional Business Review. Journal of Business Ethics (2008) 80:643–651 Ó Springer 2007 DOI 10.1007/s10551-007-9459-4