Behavioral integrity, the consistency of an individual’s words and deeds, could be regarded as a basic element of trust and thus an important factor of effective
leadership. However, this consistency is subjected to conflicting demands under various surroundings. We apply scenarios designating social contract settings to understand behavioral integrity differences between seasoned managers and college business students. The result reveals that managers process higher behavioral integrity than the students exhibited. We propose that an individual’s awareness of immediate surroundings and experiences in social contracting process strengthened one’s behavioral integrity. It is advisable that business schools recognize this social contracting process and provide students with more concrete, real-life lessons.
