When conducting or evaluating cross-cultural/cross-national research studies a critical question must be asked about the measurements: are they culturally an emic or etic? That is, is the research methodology culturally bound or culture free? The research described in this paper shows how etic and emic properties may be explored by using the Ethicality Scale developed by Albaum and Peterson (2006) and demonstrates that it is at best an imposed etic scale. In doing so, this research confirms Adler’s (1991) view that similarity across cultures should be proven rather than assumed. It also raises questions about the frequent assumption of implied or imposed etic validity in cross-cultural/cross-national research.
