Influence of demographic characteristics on real estate agents ethical values - A case in Ho Chi Minh city
Abstract
The fact that there is a shortage of studies on the correlation between ethics and real estate agents along with the accelerated growth of real estate brokerage in Vietnam have acted as incentives for this paper. Analyzing data from administered questionnaire applied on a random sample of real estate agents in HCMC, this study aims to investigate the relationship between real estate agents’ demographic characteristics and their ethical values. Utilizing and adapting the research methodology developed by Harris (1990), participants response through five ethical constructs in this study. The constructs are labeled as Deceit, Fraud, Coercion, Influence dealing, and Self-interest. According to the findings, among the five ethical values, real estate agents approve of Coercion but disapprove of Fraud while fulfill their responsibility. Moreover, evidence shows that the greatest level of approval of coercive power is among real estate agents with higher income level or more working experience. Nevertheless, the statistics reveals no significant relationship between the ethical values and academic qualification and marital status of the respondents.
Keywords: Ethical Values, Real Estate Agents, Demographic Characteristics.