Competitive Young Generation – Myth or Reality?

The study aims to contribute to research on moral aspects of business negotiations. In particular, it sets out to investigate whether there are generational differences between negotiators when assessing the acceptability and opting for or against the employment of ethically ambiguous negotiating tactics. The rationale for the investigation is that although the last decades have seen increasing international academic interest in whether it is culture, age or gender which is most decisive, in Hungary there is a lack of similar research. According to sociological surveys and public opinion, members of the young generation are more assertive, competitive and willing to take more risks than their older counterparts, thus their behaviour is more likely to demonstrate lower ethical standards. The study reports on the findings of a questionnaire survey (N=246) conducted in the Northern Transdanubia Region of Hungary. The results show that both studied age groups hold a low opinion of ethically questionable tactics and do not frequently use them. The young generation of business negotiators is more competitive and venturous only in their values, that is, they seem to approve more of EANTs. At the same time, there seem to be no significant differences between the two broad generations' practices