The Role of Ubuntu in Ethical Decision-Making in Nigeria: Ethical Decision-Making in SMEs

Ubuntu as a traditional African ethic that focused on the interest of the community over that of the individual had been suggested to improve ethical decision-making in businesses in Nigeria. While there had been research done on Ubuntu in Nigeria in the past, it had centred on multinational and large businesses. The impact of Ubuntu on the ethical decision-making of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) had not been an area of focus despite SMEs being more strongly influenced by their local community. Therefore, this thesis sought to discover to what extent Ubuntu could influence Nigerian SMEs' decision-making on ethical issues. To carry out this research, data was collected in Lagos, Nigeria from ten SME supermarkets in the retail industry, which is one of the largest SME sectors in Nigeria. The data were collected mainly through semi-structured interviews and informal conversations with supporting data collected through an observer-as-participant role and documents for data triangulation. The data were analysed using a top-down, theoretical thematic approach which is an analyst-driven approach propelled by the theoretical interest. Data analysis was aided by a theoretical framework based on adding community to Schwartz’s integrated ethical decision-making model. The data analysis showed that while Ubuntu could be considered an influential part of the ethical decision-making of SMEs, its influence was limited by other factors. It also showed that the presence of Ubuntu in the ethical decision-making of the business did not guarantee that the business would make ethical decisions. This research contributed to empirical data on the research of Ubuntu in business ethics in Nigeria and to research of the ethical decision-making process by examining and altering Schwartz’s integrated ethical decision-making model for the theoretical framework.