INSIDER TRADING FROM THE PERSPECTIVES OF TWO ETHICAL THEORIES: UTILITARIANISM AND KANT’S APPROACH

Abstract

Utilitarianism is a general term for any view that holds that actions and policies should be evaluated on the basis of the benefits and costs they will impose on society but in the respect of Kant’s categorical imperative approach, intention is more important than result while we behave in an action. The purpose of the study is to investigate the insider trading which is about buying or selling of securities on the basis of material, non public information, with these two theories as utilitarian principles and Kant’s approach from the perspectives of Business Administration Students. The data was collected by different scenarios which reflect the insider trading in the stock market. The results show that insider trading should be analyzing according to the condition of this perspectives in order to find out that is ethical or unethical.