Ethical Issues in Marketing

Abstract

Whilst most people may be able to agree that an ethical code in marketing practice is desirable, reaching agreement on a systematic application of even the most rudimentary moral principles becomes more problematic as one moves from considering broad generalisations to particular examples (Laczniak, 1983). This is not confined to marketing but applies to business conduct generally. As consumers, most people believe that stealing from employers is wrong, but as employees, this sense of probity seemed to diminish as the value of the item fell. A Gallup poll in the US cited by Ricklefs (1983) indicated that 74% of a sample of business executives had supplied their children with materials for their homework and 78% had used company telephones for long-distance calls. A decade later a similar mismatch of public expectation and private behaviour was noted in the UK. Blanchfield, Lea and Richards found, unsurprisingly, that the consumers surveyed believed financial institutions should observe strict standards of honesty and accountability, and yet a survey carried out by Leicester University showed a high proportion of their sample of consumers filing dishonest insurance claims, without apparent moral qualms (see Blanchfield, Lea and Richards, 1994).