ABSTRACT
At a Summer School in Management1 participants were asked how they would react to a foreign business partner who demands a bribe. This question stimulated a controversial debate. Some Southern European participants argued in favour of giving bribes, arguing that this may be the only way to seal a contract. This contrasted with the ambiguity of some Scandinavian participants who felt uneasy about bribes. Whatever the cause of these different attitudes, they represent a characteristic of international trade relations which has recently aroused controversy among trading partners. This study investigates these differences empirically.
