Li-Ping Tang, ThomasLi, ZhenÖzbek, Mehmet FerhatLim, Vivien K. G.Teo, Thompson S. H.Ansari, Mahfooz A.Sutarso, TotoGarber, IlyaChiu, Randy Ki-KwanCharles-Pauvers, BrigitteUrbain, CarolineLuna-Arocas, RobertoChen, JingqiuTang, NingyuTang, Theresa Li-NaArias-Galicia, FernandoDe La Torre, Consuelo GarciaVlerick, PeterAkande, AdebowaleAl-Zubaidi, Abdulqawi SalimKazem, Ali MahdiBorg, Mark G.Cheng, Bor-ShiuanDu, LinzhiIbrahim, Abdul Hamid SafwatKim, KilsunMalovics, EvaMpoyi, Richard T.Nnedum, Obiajulu Anthony UgochukwuSardžoska, Elisaveta GjorgjiAllen, Michael W.Correia, RosárioJen, Chin-KangMoreira, Alice S.Osagie, Johnston E.Osman-Gani, Aahad M.Pholsward, RujaPolic, MarkoSkobic, PetarStembridge, Allen F.Canova, LuiginaManganelli, Anna MariaPitariu, Adrian H.Pereira, Francisco José Costa2023-07-262023-07-262023This is a published version of an article that is available at: https://doi.org/10.1111/beer.12505. Recommended citation: Tang, T. L., Li, Z., Özbek, M. F., Lim, V. K., Teo, T. S., Ansari, M. A., Sutarso, T., Garber, I., Chiu, R. K., Charles‐Pauvers, B., Urbain, C., Luna‐Arocas, R., Chen, J., Tang, N., Tang, T. L., Arias‐Galicia, F., De La Torre, C. G., Vlerick, P., Akande, A., … Pereira, F. J. (2023). Behavioral economics and monetary wisdom: A cross‐level analysis of monetary aspiration, pay (dis)satisfaction, risk perception, and corruption in 32 nations. Business Ethics, the Environment & Responsibility, 32(3), 925–945. This item has been deposited in accordance with publisher copyright and licensing terms and with the author’s permission.https://hdl.handle.net/11274/15275https://doi.org/10.1111/beer.12505Article originally published in Business Ethics, the Environment & Responsibility, 32(3), 925–945. English. Published online 2023. https://doi.org/10.1111/beer.12505Corruption involves greed, money, and risky decision-making. We explore the love of money, pay satisfaction, probability of risk, and dishonesty across cultures. Avaricious monetary aspiration breeds unethicality. Prospect theory frames decisions in the gains-losses domain and high-low probability. Pay dissatisfaction (in the losses domain) incites dishonesty in the name of justice at the individual level. The Corruption Perceptions Index, CPI, signals a high-low probability of getting caught for dishonesty at the country level. We theorize that decision-makers adopt avaricious love-of-money aspiration as a lens and frame dishonesty in the gains-losses domain (pay satisfaction-dissatisfaction, Level 1) and high-low probability (CPI, Level 2) to maximize expected utility and ultimate serenity. We challenge the myth: Pay satisfaction mitigates dishonesty across nations consistently. Based on 6500 managers in 32 countries, our cross-level three-dimensional visualization offers the following discoveries. Under high aspiration conditions, pay dissatisfaction excites the highest- (third-highest) avaricious justice-seeking dishonesty in high (medium) CPI nations, supporting the certainty effect. However, pay satisfaction provokes the second-highest avaricious opportunity-seizing dishonesty in low CPI entities, sustaining the possibility effect—maximizing expected utility. Under low aspiration conditions, high pay satisfaction consistently leads to low dishonesty, demonstrating risk aversion—achieving ultimate serenity. We expand prospect theory from a micro and individual-level theory to a cross-level theory of monetary wisdom across 32 nations. We enhance the S-shaped Curve to three 3-D corruption surfaces across three levels of the global economic pyramid, providing novel insights into behavioral economics, business ethics, the environment, and responsibility.en-USCross-level analysisMeasurement invarianceCommon method varianceDishonestyCorruptionWrongdoingUnethicalityGreedy desiresAvaricious monetary aspirationLove of money attitudeMonetary wisdomInternationalGlobalCross-culturalPay satisfaction-dissatisfactionGains-lossesEquity perceptionsLevel 1Prospect theoryRisk-takingRisk-aversionThe certainty effectThe possibility effectS CurveBehavioral economicsTheory of planned behaviorTPBAttitudeSocial normsControlIntentionTransparencyHigh-low probability of riskCPIEnvironmental contextCountry levelLevel 2Article© 2023 The Authors.CC BY-NC 4.0