Ethical perceptions of marketers: The interaction effects of machiavellianism and organizational ethical culture

This study examines the interaction effects of Machiavellianism and organizational ethical culture on two components of a marketer's ethical decision — perceptions of an ethical problem and perceptions of remedial alternatives. The results suggest that certain aspects of ethical perceptions are related to the interaction between Machiavellianism and organizational ethical culture.Anusorn Singhapakdi is Assistant Professor of Marketing at Old Dominion University. His papers on various topics in marketing ethics and corporate/consumer social responsibility have been published in theJournal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Journal of Business Ethics, Journal of Macromarketing, Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management, Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, and others. He has presented papers at various professional conferences, including the American Marketing Association and the Academy of Marketing Science.     

Personal and professional values underlying the ethical judgments of marketers

This study explores the relative influences of two levels of value orientations, personal values and professional values, underlying the ethical judgments of marketing practitioners. The data were obtained from a mail survey of the American Marketing Association's professional members. The results generally indicate that a marketer's ethical judgments can be partially explained by his/her personal and professional values.Anusorn Singhapakdi is Assistant Professor of Marketing at Old Dominion University. His papers focusing on various topics in marketing ethics and corporate/consumer social responsibility have been published in theJournal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Journal of Business Ethics, Journal of Macromarketing, Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management, Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, as well as other journals and proceedings.Scott J. Vitell is Associate Professor and holder of the Michael S. Starnes Lectureship in Marketing and Business Ethics at the University of Mississippi. His work has appeared in theJournal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Journal of Business Ethics, Journal of Macromarketing, Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management, andResearch in Marketing as well as various other journals and proceedings.     

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.     

Correlates of salespeople's ethical conflict: An exploratory investigation

Much have been written about marketing ethics. Virtually no published research, however, has examined what factors are related to the ethical conflict of salespeople. Such research is important because it could have direct implications for the management of sales personnel. This paper presents the results of an exploratory study that examined selected correlates of salespeople's ethical conflict. Implications for practitioners and academic are also provided. Alan J. Dubinsky is visiting Associate Professor of Marketing at the University of Minnesota. He was previously Assistant Professor of Marketing at Southern Methodist University and Territory Manager for Burroughs Corperation. His publications have appeared in several journals, including Journal of Retailing, Journal of Advertising, California Management Review, MSU Business Topics, Business Horizons, Industrial Marketing Management, Journal of Purchasing and Materials Management, Journal of Personal Selling and Sales Management, and Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science. Thomas N. Ingram is Associate Professor of Marketing at the University of Kentucky. He was formerly Product Manager and then Sales Manager with EXXON Company, U.S.A. and Mobil Chemical. His publications have appeared in Journal of Marketing Research, California Management Review, Business Horizons, Journal of Purchasing and Materials Management, Industrial Marketing Management, Journal of Personal Selling and Sales Management, and Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science. He is also coauthor of a personal selling textbook (Macmillan, 1984).The autors gratefully acknowledge the University of Kentucky Research Foundation for its financial support of this project.     

Ethical attitudes of mental health practitioners: Balancing therapeutic practices and treatments

This paper reports the responses of 251 mental health care practitioners to a mail survey examining their views concerning ethical conflicts and practices within their work environments. Besides identifying the sources and types of conflicts they experience, respondents 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 described.Mohammed Y. A. Rawwas is an Assistant Professor of Marketing at the University of Northern Iowa. His research has appeared in theJournal of Business Ethics, Journal of Hospital Marketing, Health Marketing Quarterly, Medical Marketing & Media, among other journals and proceedings.David Strutton is the Acadiana Bottling Professor of Marketing at the University of Southwestern Lousiana. His research has appeared in theJournal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Journal of Advertising Research, Journal of Business Research, Journal of Macromarketing andJournal of Personal Selling & Sales Management, among other journals and proceedings.Lou E. Pelton is an Assistant Professor of Marketing at the University of North Texas. His research has appeared in theJournal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Journal of Business Research, Journal of Global Marketing, Journal of Macromarketing, andJournal of Personal Selling & Sales Management, among other journals and proceedings.     

Effect of Ethical Climate on Turnover Intention: Linking Attitudinal- and Stress Theory

Attitudinal- and stress theory are used to investigate the effect of ethical climate on job outcomes. Responses from 208 service employees who work for a country health department were used to test a structural model that examines the process through which ethical climate (EC) affects turnover intention (TI). This study shows that the EC–TI relationship is fully mediated by role stress (RC), interpersonal conflict (IC), emotional exhaustion (EE), trust in supervisor (TS), and job satisfaction (JS). Results show that EC reduces (RS) and increases TS. Lower stress levels result in lower EE, higher JS, and lower TI. Also, supervisor trust (TS) reduces IC and EE. The structural model predicts 53.9% of the variance of TI. Jay Prakash Mulki is an Assistant Professor at Northeastern University. He has extensively published in the sales management area. His articles have been published in the Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management, Journal of Business Research, and Psychology and Marketing. Jorge Fernando Jaramillo is an Assistant Professor of Marketing at the University of Texas at Arlington. His research interests include marketing strategy and sales force management. Dr. Jaramillo’s research has appeared in multiple journals including the Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management, International Journal of Research in Marketing, Journal of Business Research, and the Journal of Marketing Education. William B. Locander is the founding Director of the Davis Leadership Center at Jacksonville University. He is a former President of the American Marketing Association and has served as an examiner of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. He is also a member of the Editorial Board of the Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice. Dr. Locander has published in several business journals including the Journal of Marketing, Journal of Marketing Research, Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Business Research, and the Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management.     

Ethical ideology and ethical judgment regarding ethical issues in business

Differences in ethical ideology are thought to influence individuals' reasoning about moral issues (Forsyth and Nye, 1990; Forsyth, 1992). To date, relatively little research has addressed this proposition in terms of business-related ethical issues. In the present study, four groups, representing four distinct ethical ideologies, were created based on the two dimensions of the Ethical Position Questionnaire (idealism and relativism), as posited by Forsyth (1980). The ethical judgments of individuals regarding several business-related issues varied, depending upon their ethical ideology.Tim Barnett is Assistant Professor of Management at Louisiana Tech University. He has published in such journals asPersonnel Psychology, theJournal of Business Research, andHuman Relations. His research interests include ethical decision making and ethical issues in HRM.Ken Bass is Assistant Professor of Management at East Carolina State University. He has articles published in several journals, including theJournal of Personal Selling and Sales Management. His research interests include ethical decision making, ethical strategy, and methodology.Gene Brown is Associate Professor Marketing at Louisiana Tech University. He is published in such journals as theJournal of Retailing, the Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, theJournal of Business Research, Psychology and Marketing, and Industrial Marketing Management. His main interests include personal selling, retailing, ethics, and methodology.     

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.     

Ethical Ideologies and Older Consumer Perceptions of Unethical Sales Tactics

Demographic differences among consumer groups have become increasingly important to the development of marketing strategies. Marketers depend heavily on the sales force to implement strategies at the consumer level and, not surprisingly, different groups may view the salesperson’s role differently. Unfortunately, unethical sales practices targeted at various consumer groups, and especially at seniors, have been utilized as well. The purpose of this study is to provide initial empirical evidence of the ethical ideological make-up of four age segments outlined by Strauss and Howe (1991, Generations: The History of America’s Future 1584–2069, Morrow, New York) and to examine the propensity for these groups (seniors, in particular) to respond differentially to potentially unethical sales tactics. Data were collected from 179 respondents representing the four generational age groups. MANOVA revealed that the seniors in this study were distinct with respect to ethical ideology and less accepting of unethical sales tactics. Managerial implications are discussed for sales organizations to maximize their effectiveness across consumer groups. Rosemary P. Ramsey (Ph.D., University of Cineinnati) is Professor of Marketing in the Raj Soin College of Business at Wright State University, Dayton, OH, USA. Rosemary spent several years as a marketing and sales practitioner in the private sector, primarily for NCR Corporation. She is interested in relationship development as it pertains to buyer-seller interactions, salespersons with their sales managers, and team dynamics. She has been on the faculty at University of Kentucky and University of South Florida. She was in administration at Eastern Kentucky University, Cleveland State University, and Wright State University. She is published in the Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Journal of Retailing, Journal of Business Research, Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management, among others. She was recently honored by Who’s Who among America’s Teachers and Who’s Who in Executives and Professionals. Greg W. Marshall (Ph.D., Oklahoma State University) is Professor of Marketing and Strategy in the Roy E. Crummer Graduate School of Business at Rollins College, Winter Park, FL, USA, Greg’s research centers on the areas of sales force selection, performance, and evaluation; adoption and successful use of technology by salespeople; sales force diversity; decision making by marketing managers; and intraorganizational relationships. He is Editor of the Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice. His industry experience includes thirteen years in selling and sales management, product management, and retailing with companies such as Warner Lambert, Mennen, and Target Corporation. He is a frequent consultant and trainer in the area of strategic marketing. Greg serves on the editorial review boards of the Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Journal of Business Research, and Industrial Marketing Management.He is co-author of the books, Sales Force Management 9e and Relationship Selling and Sales Management 2e, both published by McCraw-Hill, and Marketing: Real People, Real Choices 5e, published by Prentice Hall. Mark W Johnston (Ph.D., Texas A&M University) is the Alan and Sandra Gerry Professor of Marketing and Ethics at the Roy E. Crummer Graduate School of Business at Rollins College, Winter Park, FL, USA. Mark has conducted a number of seminars around the world on a variety of topics including ethical issues in marketing, sales force motivation, managing turnover in the organization, sales training issues, and improving overall sales performance. He has served as a marketing consultant to a number of organizations around the country. A partial list of his research includes publications in theJournal of Marketing Research, Jotunal of Applied Psychology, Journal of Business Research, and Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management. He is co-author of the books Sales Force Marnagement 9e and Relationship Selling and Sales Management 2e, both published by McGraw-Hill. Dawn R, Deeter-Schmelz (Ph.D., University of South Florida) is Chair and O’Bleness Professor of Marketing at Ohio University, Athens, OH, USA. Her research interests include customer service teams, sales management and buyer-seller relationship issues, business-to-business e-commerce, and scale development. She has published in Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice, Industrial Marketing Management, Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management, Journal of Marketing Education, and Journal of Business Logistics, among others. In a marketplace where the consumer is King ... understanding the fundamental needs, values, icons and historical experiences of the various generations is more critical than ever. Generational mindsets and feelings are major factors in determining ...an effective marketing strategy. —Fishman (2004), p. 4     

The Ethical Decision Making of Men and Women Executives in International Business Situations

While a number of studies have examined the impact of gender/sex on ethical decision-making, the findings of this body of research do not provide consistent answers. Furthermore, very few of these studies have incorporated cross-cultural samples. Consequently, this study of 222 American and Spanish business executives explored sex differences in ethical judgments and intentions to act ethically. While no significant differences between males and females were found with respect to ethical judgments, females exhibited higher intentions to act more ethically than males. This difference was true of both U.S. and Spanish executives. Further research is warranted to develop a clearer understanding of the linkage between ethical judgment and intention to act in an ethical manner. These findings have implications for global firms, particularly regarding codes of conduct and ethics training. Sean Valentine is an Assiciate Professor of Management at the University of Wyoming. His research has appeared in journals such as Human Relations, Journal of Business Research, Journal of Business Ethics, and Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management. Terri Rittenburg is an Associate Professor of Marketing at the Univesity of Wyoming; she is a member of the Editorial Policy Board for the Journal of Macromarketing. Her research has appeared in journals such as Psychology and Marketing, Journal of Business Ethics, and Journal of Macromarketing.     

Salesperson Perceptions of Ethical Behaviors: Their Influence on Job Satisfaction and Turnover Intentions

In the academic world, research has indicated that “good ethics is good business.” Such research seems to indicate that firms, which emphasize ethical values and social responsibilities, tend to be more profitable than others. Generally, the profitability is credited to the firm’s positive relationships with its customers, reduced costs of attempting to rebuild a tarnished image, ease of attracting capital, etc. The research conducted in this study evaluated salespeople’s perceptions of the ethics of businesses in general, their employer’s ethics, their attitudes as consumers, and the relationships existing between these perceptions and the sale force’s job satisfaction and turnover intentions. The results show a positive relationship existing between salesperson perceptions of business ethics, his/her employer’s ethics, consumer attitudes, and the salesperson’s job satisfaction and reduced turnover intentions. Charles E. Pettijohn (D.B.A., Louisiana Tech University) is a professor of marketing in the College of Business Administration at Missouri State University. He is also co-editor of the Marketing Management Journal. His research has appeared in the Journal of Personal Selling and Sales Management, the Journal of Businesss Ethics, Marketing Management Journal, Psychology and Marketing, and the Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice. At Missouri State University, his primary teaching focus is in the areas of Personal Selling and Sales Management. Linda S. Pettijohn (D.B.A., Louisiana Tech University) is a Professor of marketing in the College of Business Administration at Missouri State University. Her research has appeared in the Journal of Personal Selling and Sales Management, Human Resource Development Quarterly, Marketing Management Journal, Psychology and Marketing, and the Journal of Financial Serivices Marketing. At Missouri State University, her primary teaching focus is in the area of Retailing. Albert J. Taylor (D.B.A., Louisiana Tech University) is an associate professor of marketing in the College of Business Administration at Coastal Carolina University. His research has appeared in the Journal of Personal Selling and Sales Management, Human Resource Development Quartely, the International Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Administration, Psychology and Marketing, and the Journal of Applied Business Research. At Missouri State University, his primary teaching focus is in the areas of Marketing Research and Personal Selling.     

The relative importance of social responsibility in determining organizational effectiveness: Student responses II

This paper, Study II, is the second in a series of papers investigating the relative importance of social responsibility criteria in determining organizational effectiveness, using student samples. A revised version of the Organizational Effectiveness Menu was used as a questionnaire with a sample of 182 senior undergraduate and the MBA students from three universities. Each respondent was asked to rate the importance of the criteria from a manager's perspective. The results support the earlier findings that students responding as managers rate social responsibility criteria, individually and collectively, among the least important of the potential determinants of organizational effectiveness.Dr. Kenneth L. Kraft is Director of Graduate studies at The University of Tampa. He has published numerous articles on Business Ethics, Organization Design, and Strategic Planning in journals such as theAcademy of Management Review, American Business Review, andJournal of Business Ethics. His current research interest centers on the measurement of moral intensity.Dr. Anusorn Singhapakdi is Assistant of Marketing at Old Dominion University. His research has been primarily in marketing/business ethics. He has published in theJournal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Journal of Business Ethics, Journal of Macromarketing, Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, as well as various other journals and proceedings.     

Business ethics and job-related constructs: A cross-cultural comparison of automotive salespeople

Although a number of articles have addressed ethical perceptions and behaviors, few studies have examined ethics across cultures. This research focuses on measuring the job satisfaction, customer orientation, ethics, and ethical training of automotive salespersons in the U.S. and Taiwan. The relationships of these variables to salesperson performance were also investigated. Ethics training was found to be negatively related to perceived levels of ethicalness and performance. High performance U.S. salespeople reported high ethical behavior, while the opposite was true in Taiwan. Customer orientation in both countries was influenced by ethics training. Managers should evaluate current ethics training programs to insure correct ethical behavior is taught and rewarded.Earl D. Honeycutt, Jr. is Associate Professor of Marketing at Old Dominion University. He has published inBusiness Horizons, Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management, Industrial Marketing Management, Industrial Management, Journal of Strategic Marketing, and numerous other national and international publications.Judy A. Siguaw is Assistant Professor of Marketing at UNC-Wilmington. Her articles have appeared inJournal of Marketing Research, Journal of Strategic Marketing, Industrial Management, Marketing Education Review, and numerous international and national proceedings.Tammy G. Hunt is Associate Professor of Management at UNC-Wilmington. Her articles have been published inSimulation & Gaming, Journal of Business Education, Journal of Voluntary Action Research, and numerous national and regional 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 role of ethics and social responsibility in achieving organizational effectiveness: Students versus managers

This paper investigates the differences in perceptions between business students and service-sector managers regarding the role that ethics and social responsibility serve in determining organizational effectiveness. An organizational effectiveness instrument containing business ethics and social responsibility items served as a questionnaire for a sample of 151 senior business undergraduates and 53 service-sector managers. The results indicated that while students acting as managers rate some social responsibility issues as more important than do managers, they also rate ethical conduct and a few dimensions of social responsibility lower than do managers. The findings have direct implications for both business practitioners and educators.Kenneth L. Kraft received his D.B.A. from the University of Maryland in 1982 and is currently an Associate Professor of Management at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, VA. His recent papers explore the relationships between strategy, structure, social responsibility, and organizational effectiveness in a variety of settings. Anusorn Singhapakdi is Assistant Professor of Marketing at Old Dominion University. His current research interests center on marketing/business ethics and selected public policy issues in marketing. He has published in Journal of Macromarketing, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, International Journal of Value Based Managementas well as other journals and proceedings.     

The Role of Ethics Institutionalization in Influencing Organizational Commitment,Job Satisfaction,and Esprit de Corps

Given increasing ethical problems in business, many organizations have tried to control these problems by institutionalizing ethics such as by creating new ethics positions and formulating and enforcing codes of ethics. In this study, the impact of implicit and explicit forms of institutionalization of ethics on job satisfaction, esprit de corps, and organizational commitment for marketing professionals is investigated. Additionally, the influence of organizational socialization, ethical relativism, and age relative to each of the above organizational climate constructs is examined. Results indicate that at least one of the forms of institutionalization of ethics is a significant determinant of all three organizational climate constructs. However, while organizational socialization is a significant determinant of all three organizational climate variables, relativism is only significant in determining organizational commitment (in a negative direction) and age is only significant in determining job satisfaction. Scott John Vitell is Phil B. Hardin Professor of Marketing and Chair of the Marketing Department at the University of Mississippi. He received his Ph.D. in Marketing from Texas Tech University. He has published more than 100 journal articles. His recent publications have appeared in the Journal of Retailing, the Journal of Business Ethics, the Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice, the Journal of International Marketing, International Business Review and the Journal of Macromarketing, among others. He serves on the Editorial Board of the Journal of Business Research. Anusorn Singhapakdi is Professor of Marketing and Marketing Area Coordinator at Old Dominion University. He has published more than 50 journal articles. He has also received recognition for his publications from a number of academic journals including the Journal of Business Research, International Marketing Review, Marketing Education Review, and the Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science. He serves on the Editorial Boards of␣the Journal of Macromarketing and the Journal of Marketing Education. He is a section editor for Applied Research in Quality of Life and has served as a guest editor for the Journal of Business Ethics.     

Religiosity,ethical ideology,and intentions to report a peer's wrongdoing

Peer reporting is a specific form of whistelblowing in which an individual discloses the wrongdoing of a peer. Previous studies have examined situational variables thought to influence a person's decision to report the wrongdoing of a peer. The present study looked at peer reporting from the individual level. Five hypotheses were developed concerning the relationships between (1) religiosity and ethical ideology, (2) ethical ideology and ethical judgments about peer reporting, and (3) ethical judgments and intentions to report peer wrongdoing.Subjects read a vignette concerning academic cheating, and were asked to respond to a question-naire concerning the vignette. Data were analyzed using structural equation methodology.Results indicated that religiosity was positively associated with an ethical ideology of non-relativism. Individuals whose ethical ideologies could be described as idealistic and non-relativistic were more likely to state that reporting a peer's cheating was ethical. In turn, individuals who believed reporting a peer's cheating was ethical were more likely to say that they would report a peer's cheating. Tim Barnett is Assistant Professor of Management at Louisiana Tech University. He has authored or coauthored articles appearing in Human Relations, Personnel Psychology, the Journal of Business Research, and the Journal of Business Ethics, among others. His current research interests include whistle-blowing and the ethical decision making process. Ken Bass is Assistant Professor of Management at East Carolina University. He has published articles in journals including the Journal of Personal Selling and Sales Management and the Journal of Business Ethics. His research interests include ethical decision making, ethical strategy, and methodology. Gene Brown is Professor of Marketing at Louisiana Tech University, and received the Ph.D. from the University of Alabama. He has published in a variety of journals including the Journal of Marketing Research, the Journal of Business Research, the Journal of Business Ethics, and the Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science. His research intersts include personal selling, retailing, ethics, and methodology.     

An Ethical Decision-Making Framework for Competitor Intelligence Gathering

Competitor intelligence gathering involves the aggregation of competitive information to facilitate strategic development and a competitive advantage. Unfortunately, companies are sometimes willing to carry out questionable gathering practices to collect such information. An ethical decision making framework for competitor intelligence gathering is presented in this paper that outlines the impact of several strengthening and weakening factors on individual ethical reasoning. Dialogue is provided about the management of intelligence gathering from various viewpoints, and the implications of these managerial suggestions are discussed. Terri Rittenburg is an Associate Professor of Marketing at the University of Wyoming; she is a member of the Editorial Policy Board for the Journal of Macromarketing. Her research has appeared in journals such as Psychology and Marketing,Journal of Business Ethics, and Journal of Macromarketing. Sean Valentine is an Associate Professor of Management at the University of Wyoming. His research has appeared in journals such as Human Relations, Journal of Businees Research, Journal of Business Ethics, and Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management. James Faircloth is an Associate Professor of Marketing at the University of North Dakota.He has previously published in the Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice and Psychological Reports.     

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.     

Positive Group Context,Work Attitudes,and Organizational Misbehavior: The Case of Withholding Job Effort

Considering the organization’s ethical context as a framework to investigate workplace phenomena, this field study of military reserve personnel examines the relationships among perceptions of psychosocial group variables, such as cohesiveness, helping behavior and peer leadership, employee job attitudes, and the likelihood of individuals’ withholding on-the-job effort, a form of organizational misbehavior. Hypotheses were tested with a sample of 290 individuals using structural equation modeling, and support for negative relationships between perceptions of positive group context and withholding effort by individual employees was found. In addition, individual effort-performance expectancy and individual job satisfaction were negatively related to withholding effort. The findings provide evidence that individual perceptions of positive group context play a key role in the presence of misbehavior at work. The results indicate that positive group context might be an important element of ethical climate that should be managed to temper occurrence of such adverse work behavior. Roland E. Kidwell (PhD, Louisiana State University) is an associate professor in the Management and Marketing Department in the College of Business at the University of Wyoming. His major research and teaching interests focus on new ventures and economic development, family business, social entrepreneurship, business ethics, and workplace deviance. His research has been published in academic journals such as the Academy of Management Review, Journal of Management, Journal of Business Venturing, International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Journal of Accounting and Public Policy and Journal of Business Ethics. He is co-editor of the book, Managing Organizational Deviance (Sage, 2005). Sean R. Valentine (DBA, Louisiana Tech University) is Professor of Management in the Department of Management, College of Business and Public Administration at the University of North Dakota. His research and teaching interests include business ethics, human resource management, and organizational culture. His work has appeared in journals such as Human Relations, Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management, Journal of Business Research, Behavioral Research in Accounting and Journal of Business Ethics.