Business ethics: A cross-cultural comparison of managers' attitudes

A comparison of attitudes among managers from France, Germany and the United States is made with respect to codes of ethics and ethical business philosophy. Findings are also compared with past studies by Baumhart and by Brenner and Molander where data are available. While the current data appear to be consistent with the past studies, there appear to be differences in attitudes among the managers from the three countries. Helmut Becker is Professor of Business Administration at the University of Portland. He has published two books, The Information Seekers and International Marketing Strategy, with Hans Thorelli of Indiana University. His articles have appeared in various journals and he serves on the board of editors of the Journal of International Business Studies. David J. Fritzsche is Professor of Business Administration at the University of Portland. His articles have appeared in Journal of Marketing Research, Academy of Management Journal, Marketing Ethics: Guidelines for Managers and Research in Corporate Social Performance and Policy.     

The International Business Ethics Index: European Union

The present study expands the systematic measurement of consumers’ sentiments towards business ethical practices to the international arena. Data for the Business Ethics Index (BEI) were gathered in three countries of the European Union (UK, Germany, Spain). The Germans were the most pessimistic while the British were the most optimistic about the future ethical behaviour of businesses. John Tsalikis is an Associate Professor of Marketing at Florida International University. His articles have appeared in the Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Journal of Business Ethics, and Psychology in Marketing. Bruce Seaton is an Associate Professor of Marketing at Florida International University. His research interests include the role of national stereotyping in consumer choice and the application of experimental methods to investigate models of business ethics. His articles have appeared in the Journal of Advertising, Journal of Business Research, and Journal of Global Marketing.     

Assessing the application of cognitive moral development theory to business ethics

Cognitive moral development (CMD) theory has been accepted as a construct to help explain business ethics, social responsibility and other organizational phenomena. This article critically assesses CMD as a construct in business ethics by presenting the history and criticisms of CMD. The value of CMD is evaluated and problems with using CMD as one predictor of ethical decisions are addressed. Researchers are made aware of the major criticisms of CMD theory including disguised value judgments, invariance of stages, and gender bias in the initial scale development. Implications for business ethics research are discussed and opportunities for future research delineated.John Fraedrich is an Assistant Professor of Marketing at Southern Illinois University of Carbondale. His areas of interest include ethical decision making and international marketing. He has published inJournal of Macromarketing, Journal of Business Ethics, Journal of Academy of Marketing Science, Journal of Business Research, Journal of Marketing Management, International Journal of Value Based Management, andJournal of International Consumer Marketing. Dr. Fraedrich is co-author of a textbookBusiness Ethics: Ethical Decision Making and Cases, Second Edition.Debbie M. Thorne is an Assistant Professor of Marketing at the University of Tampa. Her areas of interest include business ethics, social network analysis, and cultural issues in organizations. She received a Ph.D. in 1993 and has published in theJournal of Teaching in International Business and numerous conference proceedings.O. C. Ferrell is Interim Dean and Distinguished Professor of Marketing and Business Ethics in the Fogelman College of Business and Economics at Memphis State University. Dr. Ferrell was chairman of the American Marketing Association Ethics Committee that developed the current AMA Code of Ethics. He has published articles on business ethics in theJournal of Marketing, Journal of Marketing Research, Journal of Business Research, Journal of Macromarketing, Human Relations, Journal of Business Ethics, as well as others. He has co-authored ten textbooks includingBusiness Ethics: Ethical Decision Making and Cases, Second Edition, and a tradebook,In Pursuit of Ethics.     

The perceived role of ethics and social responsibility: A scale development

Marketers must first perceive ethics and social responsibility to be important before their behaviors are likely to become more ethical and reflect greater social responsibility. However, little research has been conducted concerning marketers' perceptions regarding the importance of ethics and social responsibility as components of business decisions. The purpose of this study is to develop a reliable and valid scale for measuring marketers' perceptions regarding the importance of ethics and social responsibility. The authors develop an instrument for the measurement of the perceived role of ethics and social responsibility (PRESOR). Evidence that the scale is valid is presented through the assessment of scale reliability, as well as content and predictive validity. Finally, future research needs and the value of this construct to marketing are discussed. Anusorn Singhapakdi is Associate Professor of Marketing at Old Dominion University. He received his Ph.D. in Marketing. His has published in the Journal of Macromarketing, the Journal of Business Ethics, the Business and Professional Ethics Journal, the Journal of Public Policy and Marketing, the Journal of Personal Selling and Sales Management and the Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science. He has presented papers at various professional conferences including the American Marketing Association and the Academy of Marketing Science. Scott J. Vitell is Associate Professor of Marketing and holder of the Phil B. Hardin Chair of Marketing at the University of Mississippi. He received his Ph.D. in Marketing. His work has previously appeared in the Journal of Macromarketing, the Journal of Business Ethics, Research in Marketing, the Business and Professional Ethics Journal and the Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science as well as various other journals and proceedings. Kumar C. Rallapalli is Assistant Professor of Marketing at Troy State University. His research has been published in the Journal of Business Ethics, the Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science and the Journal of Pharmaceutical Marketing and Management as well as various national and regional proceedings. His research interests include marketing ethics, health care marketing, international marketing and direct marketing. Kenneth L. Kraft is Director of Graduate Studies at the University of Tampa. He received his DBA in Management. He has published numerous articles on Business Ethics, Organization Design and Strategic Planning in Journals such as the Academy of Management Review, America Business Review and the Journal of Business Ethics. His current research interest centers on the measurement of moral intensity.     

Social inclusion as a marketing ethics correlate

The author examines, in the context of Litwin and Stringer's (1968) operationalization, the influence of social inclusion (organizational warmth and organizational identity) as a marketing ethics correlate. The results indicate that both organizational warmth and organizational identity underlie marketing professionals' ethical behavior. Furthermore, the influence pattern for each variable is consistent witha priori hypothesis.Ishmael P. Akaah is Associate Professor of Marketing at Wayne State University. His articles have appeared in theJournal of Marketing Research, Journal of Advertising Research, Journal of Health Care Marketing, Journal of Business Research, International Marketing Review, Journal of Global Marketing, Journal of Business Logistics, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Journal of Macromarketing, Journal of Direct Marketing, Journal of Business Ethics, Proceedings of the American Marketing Association, and elsewhere. His current research interests include consumer decision processes, marketing ethics, and international marketing strategy.     

Business ethics judgments: A cross-cultural comparison

With the increased attention paid to ethical issues in business practice, there is interest in the ethics gap between the U.S. and the U.K. and in the ramifications for educating college students for business management positions. This paper examines the differences in ethics judgments between U.S. and U.K. business students. The results indicate that differences in their demographic profiles do not influence their ethics judgments. However, consistently higher business ethics of female students from both countries are discussed in relation to providing business ethics education.Thomas W. Whipple is Professor of Marketing at Cleveland State University. His articles have appeared in theJournal of Marketing Research, Journal of Marketing, Journal of Advertising, Journal of Advertising Research, Journal of Communication, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Industrial Marketing Management, Journal of Marketing Education, andJournal of Travel Research. He is the co-author ofSex Stereotyping in Advertising (Lexington, 1983).Dominic F. Swords is Director of Studies for Part Time MBA Programmes at Henley Management College in the U.K. His research interests include the Economics of European Integration and the relationship between Business Ethics and Business Policy.     

A comparison of Nigerian to American views of bribery and extortion in international commerce

This study investigates the differences in the way bribery and extortion is perceived by two different cultures — American and Nigerian. Two hundred and forty American business students and one hundred and eighty Nigerian business students were presented with three scenarios describing a businessman offering a bribe to a government official and three scenarios describing a businessman being forced to pay a bribe to an official in order to do business. The Reidenbach-Robin instrument was used to measure the ethical reactions of the two samples to these scenarios. Results indicate that ethical reactions to bribery and extortion vary by (a) the nationality of the person offering the bribe, and (b) the country where the bribe is offered. In addition, Nigerians perceived some of the scenarios as being less unethical than did Americans. John Tsalikis is an Assistant Professor of Marketing at Florida International University. His research interests include marketing ethics, international marketing, and direct marketing. His articles have appeared in the Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Journal of Business Ethics, Psychology and Marketing, and the Journal of International Consumer Marketing. Osita Nwachukwu is an Assistant Professor of Management at Western Illinois University. His research interests include marketing ethics, and business policy. His articles have appeared in the Journal of Business Ethics, and the Journal of International Consumer Marketing.     

Consumer ethics: An investigation of the ethical beliefs of elderly consumers

Business and especially marketing ethics have come to the forefront in recent years. While consumers have been surveyed regarding their perceptions of ethical business and marketing practices, research has been minimal with regard to their perceptions of ethical consumer practices. In addition, few studies have examined the ethical beliefs of elderly consumers even though they are an important and rapidly growing segment. This research investigates the relationship between Machiavellianism, ethical ideology and ethical beliefs for elderly consumers. The results indicate that elderly consumers, while generally being more ethical than younger consumers, are diverse in their eithical beliefs. Dr Scott J. Vitell is an Assistant Professor of Marketing at the University of Mississippi. His publications have appeared in the Journal of Macromarketing, the Journal of Business Ethics, the Journal of The Academy of Marketing Science, Research in Marketing, various national and regional proceedings, and elsewhere. Dr James R. Lumpkin is the Gene Brauns Professor of Marketing at the University of Southwestern Louisiana. He has been published in such journals as the American Journal of Small Business, Journal of Retailing, Journal of Management, Journal of Business Research, Journal of Advertising, Journal of Advertising Research, The Gerontologist, Psychological Reports, Industrial Marketing Management, and Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science and other scholarly journals. Mohammed Y. A. Rawwas is a doctoral student of Marketing at the University of Mississippi. His publications have appeared in Medical Marketing and Media and national proceedings.     

Differences in research ethics judgments between male and female marketing professionals

With the unprecedented increase in the number of females holding executive positions in business, there has arisen interest in issues pertaining to the role of women in business organizations, including that of malefemale differences in ethical attitudes/behavior. To add to the research evidence on the issue, this paper examines differences in research ethics judgments between male and female marketing professionals. The results indicate that female marketing professionals evince higher research ethics judgments than their male counterparts. Ishmael P. Akaah is Associate Professor of Marketing at Wayne State University. He received his M.B.A., M.A. and Ph.D. degrees from The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. His articles have appeared in the Journal of Marketing Research, Journal of Advertising Research, Journal of Health Care Marketing, Journal of Business Research, International Marketing Review, Journal of Global Marketing, Journal of Business Logistics, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Savings and Development, Eastern Africa Economic Review, Journal of Information and Optimization Sciences, and Proceedings of the American Marketing Association.The author acknowledges the financial assistance of the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs Service (ORSPS) and the School of Business Administration, both of Wayne State University, Detroit.     

The influence of non-anonymity deriving from feedback of research results on marketing professionals' research ethics judgements

The study examines, in the context of Crawford's (1970) study items, the influence of non-anonymity deriving from feedback of research results on marketing professionals' research ethics judgements, particularly that of response patterns (social desirability of responses) and item omissions. The results indicate that such non-anonymity does not significantly influence the social desirability of responses or item omissions — thus suggesting the appropriateness of its use to stimulate research ethics responses. Ishmael P. Akaah is Associate Professor of Marketing at Wayne State University. He received his M.B.A., M.A., and Ph.D. degrees from The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. His articles have appeared in the Journal of Marketing Research, Journal of Advertising Research, Journal of Health Care Marketing, Journal of Business Research, International Marketing Review, Journal of Global Marketing, Journal of Business Logistics, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Journal of Macromarketing, Journal of Direct Marketing, Journal of Business Ethics, Proceedings of the American Marketing Association, and elsewhere. His current research interests include consumer decision processes, marketing ethics, and international marketing strategy.     

Consumer ethics: An empirical investigation of factors influencing ethical judgments of the final consumer

Business and marketing ethics have come to the forefront in recent years. While consumers have been surveyed regarding their perceptions of ethical business and marketing practices, research has been minimal with regard to their ethical beliefs and ideologies. This research investigates general attitudes of consumers relative to business, government and people in general, and compares these attitudes to their beliefs concerning various questionable consumer practices. The results show that consumers' ethical beliefs are determined, in part, by who is at fault in the unethical behavior (the seller or the buyer). The results also indicate that those with a more positive attitude toward business are less likely to engage in questionable consumer practices, but one's attitudes toward salespeople, the government and people in general arenot related to the consumer's ethical beliefs.Scott J. Vitell is an Associate Professor and the Michael S. Starnes Professor of Marketing and Business Ethics at the University of Mississippi. His publications have appeared in theJournal of Macromarketing, theJournal of Business Ethics, theJournal of the Academy of Marketing Science, theJournal of Business Research, Research in Marketing and numerous other journals and proceedings.James A. Muncy is Assistant Professor of Marketing at Clemson University. His publications have appeared in theJournal of Marketing, Journal of Business Research, Journal of Current Issues and Research in Advertising, Journal of Marketing Education, andAdvances in Consumer Research. He has also published in the National Proceedings of the American Marketing Association and the American Psychological Association and has published five chapters in books. He is active in the Association for Consumer Research, acting as its Publications Director and Newsletter Coeditor.     

Bribery and extortion in international business: Ethical perceptions of Greeks compared to Americans

This study investigates the differences in he way bribery and extortion is perceived by two different cultures — American and Greek. Two hundred and forty American business students and two hundred and four Greek business students were presented with three scenarios describing a businessman offering a bribe to a government official and three scenarios describing a businessman being forced to pay a bribe to an official in order to do business. The Reidenbach-Robin instrument was used to measure the ethical reactions of the two samples to these scenarios. Results indicate that ethical reactions to bribery and extortion vary by (a) the nationality of the person offering the bribe, and (b) the country where the bribe is offered. In addition, Greeks perceived some of the scenarios as being less unethical than did Americans.John Tsalikis is an Associate Professor of Marketing at Florida International University. His research interests include marketing ethics, international marketing, and direct marketing. His articles have appeared in theJournal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Journal of Business Ethics, Psychology and Marketing, and theJournal of International Consumer Marketing.Michael S. LaTour is an Associate Professor of Marketing at Auburn University. His research interests include marketing ethics, and emotional responses to advertising. His articles have appeared in theJournal of Business Ethics, Psychology and Marketing, Journal of Health Care Marketing, and theJournal of Advertising.The authors contributed equally to this article.     

A content analysis of ethical policy statements regarding marketing activities

Many large corporations now have written codes of ethics to guide the business/marketing activities of employees. The purpose of this study was to determine the frequency and types of topics which are covered in the ethics policy statements of large U.S. corporations. The results indicated that the topics covered most often (respectively) were: misuse of funds/improper accounting, conflicts of interest, political contributions, and confidential information. It is concluded that in addition to written ethics policy statements, top management should communicate ethical values and demonstrate by example. Robert E. Hite (Ph.D. University of Arkansas) is Associate Professor of Marketing at Kansas State University. His textbook is entitled Managing Salespeople, and his articles have appeared in such journals as the Journal of Advertising Research, Journal of Business Research, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, and Industrial Marketing Management. Joseph A. Bellizzi (Ph.D. University of Nebraska) is Associate Professor of Marketing at Kansas State University. He was previously employed by Hilti Fastening systems as a Market Research analyst. His articles have appeared in such journals as the Journal of Business Research, Journal of Advertising Research, and Journal of Retailing. Cynthia Fraser (Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania) is Associate Professor of Marketing at Kansas State University. Her research interests are international marketing and marketing models. Her articles have appeared in such journals as the Journal of Consumer Research and Industrial Marketing Management.     

Ethical beliefs' differences of males and females

This study investigates the differences in ethical beliefs between males and females. One hundred and seventy five business students were presented with four scenarios and given the Reidenbach-Robin instrument measuring their ethical reactions to these scenarios. Contrary to previous research, the results indicate that the two groups have similar ethical beliefs, and they process ethical information similarly. John Tsalikis, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor of Marketing at Florida International University. His research interests include marketing ethics, international marketing, and direct marketing. His articles have appeared in the Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Journal of Business Ethics, and Psychology and Marketing. Marta Ortiz-Buonafina, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor of Marketing at Florida International University. She is the author of several books on exporting, as well as the author of several articles on international marketing issues. Dr. Ortiz-Buonafina was included in The World's Who's Who of Women and Who's Who and Why of Successful Florida Women.     

The International Business Ethics Index: Japan

The Business Ethics Index (BEI) was expanded in Japan. The overall BEI for Japan stands at 99.1 – slightly on the negative side. The component BEI patterns were similar to those in the U.S. In an open-ended question about their ethical experiences as consumers, the Japanese were concerned about customer service and good management practices. John Tsalikis is an Associate Professor of Marketing at Florida International University. His articles have appeared in the Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Journal of Business Ethics, and Psychology in Marketing. Bruce Seaton is an Associate Professor of Marketing at Florida International University. His research interests include the role of national stereotyping in consumer choice and the application of experimental methods to investigate models of business ethics. His articles have appeared in the Journal of Advertising, Journal of Business Research, and Journal of Global Marketing.     

Attitudes of marketing professionals toward ethics in marketing research: A cross-national comparison

The study reported here examines, in the context of Crawford's (1970) items, differences in research ethics attitudes among marketing professionals in Australia, Canada, Great Britian, and the United States. The study results indicate the lack of significant differences in research ethics attitudes among marketing professionals in the four countries. This finding is interpretable as implying the generalizability of the results of previous research ethics studies involving domestic (United States) marketing professionals as respondents. Ishmael P. Akaah is Associate Professor of Marketing at Wayne State University. He received his M.B.A., M.A., and Ph.D. degrees from The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. His articles have appeared in the Journal of Marketing Research, Journal of Advertising Research, Journal of Health Care Marketing, Journal of Business Research, International Marketing Review, Journal of Global Marketing, Journal of Business Logistics, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Journal of Direct Marketing, Journal of Business Ethics, Savings and Development, Eastern Africa Economic Review, Journal of Information and Optimization Sciences, and Proceedings of the American Marketing Association.     

The effects of culture on ethical decision-making: An application of Hofstede's typology

This paper addresses a significant gap in the conceptualization of business ethics within different cultural influences. Though theoretical models of business ethics have recognized the importance of culture in ethical decision-making, few have examinedhow this influences ethical decision-making. Therefore, this paper develops propositions concerning the influence of various cultural dimensions on ethical decision-making using Hofstede's typology.Scott J. Vitell is Associate Professor of Marketing and holder of the Michael S. Starnes Lecturship in Marketing and Business Ethics at the University of Mississippi. His work has previously appeared in theJournal of Macromarketing, theJournal of Business Ethics, Research in Marketing, and theJournal of the Academy of Marketing Science as well as various other journals and proceedings.Saviour Nwachukwu is a Ph.D. candidate in Marketing. His research interests include international marketing, marketing and economic development, and marketing ethics.James H. Barnes is Associate Professor of Marketing and Pharmacy Administration and holder of the Morris Lewis, Jr. Lectureship in Marketing at the University of Mississippi. His research has previously appeared in theJournal of Marketing Research as well as other journals and proceedings.     

Deceptive nature of Dial-a-Porn commercials and public policy alternatives

This research investigates consumers' perceptions of claims made in Dial-a-Porn commercials. The empirical findings support the view that some of the claims are deceptive. Based on research findings, preliminary public policy guidelines are suggested.Shaheen Borna is an Associate Professor, Department of Marketing, Ball State University. He received his DBA. His articles have appeared in theJournal of Business Ethics, Journal of Health Care Marketing, British Journal of Criminology, Journal of Accountancy, Akron Business and Economic Review, andProceedings of the American Marketing Associations.Joseph Chapman is an Assistant Professor, Department of Marketing, Ball State University. He received his Ph.D. His research interests are in the areas of personal selling, promotion and business ethics. His articles have appeared in theJournal of Personal Selling and Sales Management, Marketing Education Review, andJournal of Marketing Theory and Practice.Dennis Menezes is an Associate Professor, Department of Marketing, University of Louisville, Ky. He received his Ph.D. His articles have appeared in numerous journals includingJournal of Marketing Research.     

The business ethics of pharmacists: Conflicts practices and beliefs

This paper represents the responses of 377 pharmacists to a mail survey examining their views concerning ethical conflicts and practices. Besides identifying the sources of ethical conflicts, pharmacists were asked how ethical standards have changed over the last 10 years as well as the factors influencing these changes. Conclusions and implications are outlined and future research needs are examined. Troy A. Festervand is Professor of Marketing at Middle Tennessee State University. He has published in JAMS, ABER, Journal of Advertising Research, Business, JSBM, Journal of Business and Industrial Marketing and Journal of Business Ethics and numerous other journals. Scott J. Vitell is an Assistant Professor of Marketing at the University of Mississippi. His publications have appeared in the Journal of Macromarketing, the Journal of Business Ethics, the Journal of The Academy of Marketing Science, Research in Marketing, various national and regional proceedings, and elsewhere. Mohammed Y. A. Rawwas is a doctoral student of Marketing at the University of Mississippi. He holds a license at law and MBA from the American University. His publications have appeared in Medical Marketing and Media and national proceedings.     

Exploring the structure of ethical attributions as a component of the consumer decision model: The vicarious versus personal perspective

The managerial ethics literature is used as a base for the inclusion of Ethical Attribution, as an element in the consumer's decision process. A situational model of ethical consideration in consumer behavior is proposed and examined for Personal vs. Vicarious effects. Using a path analytic approach, unique structures are reported for Personal and Vicarious situations in the evaluation of a seller's unethical behavior. An attributional paradigm is suggested to explain the results. Joel Whalen is an Assistant Professor of Marketing at DePaul University, Chicago. He has published articles in Psychology & Marketing, Journal of Business Research, and Journal of Business Ethics. His research has been published in the proceedings of the American Marketing Association's Micro-Computers in Marketing Conference; Atlantic Marketing Association; the American Marketing Association Conference on Culture and Sub-Cultural Influences; Northeast Decision Science Institute, Southern Marketing Association, and Decision Sciences Institute. Robert E. Pitts, is Professor and Chair of the Department of Marketing and the Director of the Kellstadt Center for Marketing Analysis and Planning at DePaul University. He served as a member of the faculty of Jacksonville State University, the University of Notre Dame and the University of Mississippi. Dr. Pitts' research has appeared in numerous publications including the Journal of Marketing, Journal of Bank Research, Journal of Advertising, Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Marketing Education, Journal of Business Research, Journal of Social Psychology, Southern Economic Review, Journal of Travel Research, Journal of Behavioral Economics, The Mid-South Journal of Economics, Psychology and Marketing, Marketing and Media Decisions and Journal of Insurance Issues and Practices. Dr. Pitts is the editor of Personal Values and Consumer Psychology (Lexington Publishers, and co-author of Bank Marketing, A Guide to Strategic Planning, and Effective Bank Marketing Issues, Techniques and Application. Over the past decade, Dr. Pitts has served as a consultant to such firms as General Motors Corporation, Congolium Corp-Kinder Division, National Standard Steel Corp, WalMart Corp Training Programs, Illinois State Chamber of Commerce and Council of State Chambers of Commerce. John K. Wong teaches International Marketing Management and Consumer Behavior at DePaul University. He served as a member of the faculty of the University of Missouri at Columbia and Washington State University. Dr. Wong's research has appeared in numerous publications including the International Marketing Review, Journal of Business Research, Journal of Ambulatory Care Management, International Journal of Bank Marketing and the proceedings of the American Marketing Association, Association for Consumer Research, Academy of Marketing Science, Academy of International Business and Pan-Pacific Business Association.