Ethical Decision Making in Marketing

This article focuses on the concern for ethical issues in business that has dramatically increased over the last ten to 15 years. Both academics and practitioners have shown an intense interest in ethical issues. The authors present a comprehensive synthesis and evaluation of the published scales measuring the components of the decision-making process in ethical situations using the Hunt-Vitell (1993) theory of ethics as a framework to guide the research. The authors main aim with this article is this proposed study is to provide just such an examination and evaluation of these scales. It provides a summary of the scale items, the sample used, the reported reliability and validity, and the appropriate references. The article provides a concise summary and critical evaluation of these marketing ethics scales along with suggestions for future research. This study is a summary and evaluation that does not currently exist in the marketing field. The objective of this of this study is to answer the following research questions.

1. To provide a comprehensive classificational system and synthesis of the scales used to measure marketing ethics-related constructs including the sample used, the number of items, the reliability and the validity of the scales.

2. To provide a critical evaluation of the scales used to measure marketing ethics-related constructs.

3. To provide suggestions for future research in the marketing ethics field. Methods.

In conclusion, according to the article, much more research is needed in terms of measuring ethical behavior.

References:

Vitell, S. J., & Foo, N. H. (1997). Ethical decision making in marketing: A synthesis and evaluation of scales measuring the various components of decision making in ethical situations. Journal of Business Ethics, 16(7), 699-717.