Locus of control, moral awareness and gender in ethical decision-making: evidence from Syrian SMEs

In the era of economic globalisation, ethical decision-making is considered a key component for Syrian entrepreneurs in SMEs, enabling them to create a positive business environment, attract investment, and foster trust, which in turn leads to sustainable trade in a recovering economy.This research investigates the impact of locus of control and moral awareness on ethical decision-making, focusing on the impact of gender on these relationships.The study included a total of 293 entrepreneurs, who were deliberately selected using purposive sampling techniques.The results show that locus of control and moral awareness have some significant positive effects on entrepreneurial ethical decision-making.Gender was not a significant moderator of the relationship between these variables, suggesting that the effects of these variables are similar for male and female entrepreneurs.This further supports the importance of locus of control and moral awareness as the primary drivers of ethical conduct among SMEs, irrespective of gender.