In the backdrop of rising unethicality in the corporate world and business schools. This study explores the value-behaviour gap among MBA students in ethically significant contexts. Some studies, based on observed unethical behaviours assume that students' moral values are flawed and advocate for ethics education in business schools (Christensen et al., 2007; Ghoshal, 2005). Others adopt a value preference approach, finding that MBA students often prioritize achievement and competitiveness, linking these to self-interest and ethical conflict (Lan et al., 2010; Lameris et al., 2023). However, both perspectives fail to examine whether students’ moral values are genuinely tainted or remain intact.—an issue this study addresses. This qualitative research used narrative and content analysis. Data were collected from 56 MBA students through supervised classroom sessions. The study found a significant misalignment between MBA students' stated values and their actual unethical behaviours across academic, personal, and professional contexts. Some students also redefined moral values like loyalty and helpfulness to justify misconduct, indicating twisted or deviant morality. These behaviours were influenced by moral disengagement, peer dynamics, and socio-cultural norms, rather than an outright absence of moral values. The findings call for deeper reflection on value-behaviour gaps and suggest expanding Bandura’s moral disengagement framework by revealing context-specific disengagement pathways such as trivializing rules, invoking resource scarcity and framing misconduct as part of youthful experimentation.
