**2. Methodology**

Against this background, the aim of this study was to find out the perceptions of students in the Faculty of Management Sciences of a regional university regarding to the role of their institution in strengthening their ethical culture. An exploratory study with a qualitative approach was carried out with the participation of 15 male and female students from different courses, aged between 20 and 25 years, who were interviewed using a semi-structured interview based on a literature review.

In the first phase, a literature review was carried out in relation to ethical culture and the role of higher education institutions, in particular, the management programmes. Based on the findings of this review, an information-gathering tool was constructed (Annex 1), in which the following categories were considered: the lack of ethics in the global context, the impact of the lack of ethics at the individual and community level, the role of the university in strengthening the ethical culture, academic experiences that have influenced students' behaviour, methodological strategies that have influenced or could influence students' ethical behaviour, and some subcategories were considered in each of these, as shown in **Table 1**.

The interviews were conducted face-to-face and virtually, in the first case through voice notes and, in the second, through the recording of the session. After the application of the interview, the information obtained was systematised by transcribing the audio of the interviews using Sonix software. The researchers then analysed the narrative content of the interviews, identified recurring patterns in the responses, and organised the findings.


#### **Table 1.**

*Categories and sub-categories of the study.*
