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Does Ethical Judgment Determine the Decision to Become a Cyborg?

Influence of Ethical Judgment on the Cyborg Market

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Abstract

Today, technological implants to increase innate human capabilities are already available on the market. Cyborgs, understood as healthy people who decide to integrate their bodies with insideable technology, are no longer science fiction, but fact. The cyborg market will be a huge new business with important consequences for both industry and society. More specifically, cyborg technologies are a unique product, with a potentially critical impact on the future of humanity. In light of the potential transformations involved in the creation of “superhuman” cyborgs, ethics must be a cornerstone of cyborg marketing decisions. Businesses need to take ethics into account, not only to ensure they behave ethically, as always, but also because ethics will be an important factor in buyers’ decisions in the emerging cyborg market. This is because the decision to become a cyborg is determined, among many other factors, by ethical judgment. Our research focuses on how the dimensions of the Composite Multidimensional Ethics Scale (Composite MES) influence an individual’s decision to become a cyborg. To test our hypotheses, we surveyed a total of 1563 higher-education students in seven different countries. The results of the survey show that ethical judgment will be a keystone in individual cyborgization. Specifically, ethical dimensions explained 48% of the intention to use cyborg technologies. The ethical analysis showed that not all MES dimensions have the same influence on the ethical judgment regarding this decision. Egoism was the most influential dimension, while contractualism was the least. These findings have important implications for both academia and business.

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Acknowledgements

This research was funded by the bridge Grants for research projects awarded by the University of La Rioja (2017 call), subsidized by Banco Santander (reference: APPI17/05) and the Bocam research group at the University of La Rioja.

Funding

This study was funded by Universidad de La Rioja and Fundación Banco Santander (Grant Number APPI17/05).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Economics and Business Department, University of La Rioja, Edificio Quintiliano, C/ La Cigüeña 60, 26006, Logroño, La Rioja, Spain

    Jorge Pelegrín-Borondo

  2. Business Department, Rovira i Virgili University, Av. Catalunya 35, 43002, Tarragona, Spain

    Mario Arias-Oliva

  3. School of Commerce, Meiji University, 1-1 Kanda Surugadai, Chiyoda, Tokyo, 101-8301, Japan

    Kiyoshi Murata

  4. School of Business and Communication, Universidad Internacional de La Rioja, Calle de Almansa, 101, 28040, Madrid, Spain

    Mar Souto-Romero

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  1. Jorge Pelegrín-Borondo
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Correspondence to Mario Arias-Oliva.

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Jorge Pelegrín-Borondo has received research grants from Universidad de La Rioja and Fundación Banco de Santander. Mario Arias-Oliva, Kiyoshi Murata, and Mar Souto-Romero declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Pelegrín-Borondo, J., Arias-Oliva, M., Murata, K. et al. Does Ethical Judgment Determine the Decision to Become a Cyborg?. J Bus Ethics 161, 5–17 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-018-3970-7

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