Unit VI Assignment
International Marketing Ethics: A Literature Review and Research Agenda
Rajshekhar G. Javalgi1 • La Toya M. Russell1
Received: 23 December 2014 / Accepted: 15 November 2015 / Published online: 26 November 2015
� Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2015
Abstract Globalization has changed the nature of busi-
ness in the twenty-first century (Doh et al. in Bus Ethics Q
20(3):481–502, 2010). With the increased international-
ization of multinational corporations, the need to address
international marketing ethics arises (Carrigan et al. in Int
Market Rev 22(5):481–493, 2005). Given the diversity of
environments and cultures, ethical issues are numerous and
complicated (Iyer in J Bus Ethics 31(1):3–24, 2001). The
understanding of international marketing ethics is critical
to academics as well as practitioners. This paper is a lit-
erature review (1960s through 2013) of the study of ethics
in international marketing. In order to develop a compre-
hensive review of articles, we review topics such as ethical
problems, moral philosophies, and culture and ethics. We
also discuss the methodological procedures that are used in
international marketing ethics. Researchers and practi-
tioners alike can use this research on international mar-
keting ethics to discuss the phenomena and subsequently
lead to future work research.
Keywords Ethics � Marketing � International marketing � International marketing ethics
Introduction
The importance of international marketing ethics has
gained attention due to dismantling of trade barriers, the
rise of multinational enterprises, and the globalization of
markets (Leonidou et al. 2010; Iyer 2001; Carrigan et al.
2005). As more firms expand business internationally,
ethics and ethical practices have become major topics of
interest in both academic and practitioner circles.
Undoubtedly, international marketing is a field where
questions about ethics are often raised since more and more
companies expand operations into foreign markets which
differ by culture, values, norms, behavior, rule, and regu-
lations (Murphy and Laczniak 1981; Alsmadi and Alnawas
2012). Business behavior that is deemed ethical in one
culture may be viewed as unethical in another culture.
Therefore, it is important for international marketing
marketers to understand why the variance exists. Interna-
tional marketing marketers need to be well rounded and
should not rely on their understanding of ethical judgments
and practices used domestically to understand international
marketing ethical practices. When conducting business
abroad, ethics needs to be understood on a cross-cultural
basis because ethical behavior varies from country to
country and culture to culture. For example, when dis-
cussing ethical problems, Armstrong and Sweeney (1994)
find that managers from Hong Kong perceive ethical
problems less frequently in their organizations, industries,
and particular country and less important than Australian
managers. The findings also show that the culture of the
manager has the greatest effect on perceptions of ethical
problems.
Smith (1995) argues that we are now living in the
‘‘ethics era,’’ whereby expectations of marketers have
changed and consumers have become more educated and
& Rajshekhar G. Javalgi r.javalgi@csuohio.edu
La Toya M. Russell
l.m.russell@vikes.csuohio.edu
1 Monte Ahuja College of Business Administration, Cleveland
State University, 2121 Euclid Avenue, BU419, Cleveland,
OH 44115, USA
123
J Bus Ethics (2018) 148:703–720
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-015-2958-9
better informed. Furthermore, the emergence of new
competitors, especially from emerging markets, has created
a new set of challenges in conducting business abroad.
Some of the challenges in arriving at a general consensus
on ethics in marketing stem from the lack of uniform
philosophical discussions of what is ‘‘good’’ and ‘‘ethical’’
and whether ‘‘good’’ and ‘‘ethical’’ have equivalent
meaning and interpretation (Carrigan et al. 2005). Given
that ethical decision making is very complex, Sheth et al.
(1988) note that ‘‘allegedly guilty marketing practitioners
have quite sincerely stated that they honestly did not
realize that their actions could possibly create ethical
problem.’’ Today, as the field of international marketing
develops stronger ethical concepts, international marketers
are finding that it is harder to ignore the ‘‘ethics gap’’
between what society expects and what marketing practi-
tioners are delivering (Laczniak 1993; Carrigan et al.
2005).
Scholars are actively researching the dilemmas faced by
international marketers when dealing with marketing ethics
in cross-cultural settings (Rawwas et al. 1995; Singhapakdi
et al. 1999; Carrigan et al. 2005). Although the research in
international marketing ethics has increased in the last two
decades, a comprehensive understanding of this growing
topic is lacking. Therefore, it is timely to conduct a state-
of-art review of the literature on international marketing
ethics.
The aim of this present paper is to review existing
research, and, based on this review, we examine the
research in terms of conceptual definitions, theoretical
frameworks used, statistical methods employed, number of
countries studied, and finally discuss limitations and
directions for future research. To accomplish these objec-
tives, we review the articles from 1960 through 2013 from
various journals. We chose 1960 as a starting point for our
review because the first journal that covered marketing
ethics was the Journal of Marketing in the early 1960s.
However, the field truly emerged in the late 1980s owing to
the rise of international business and international
marketing.
We contribute to the literature by reviewing and
assessing the current state of research on international
marketing ethics and by delineating where gaps exists and
further suggesting opportunities for future research.
The remainder of the article is organized as follows. The
first section discusses the methodological approach in
international marketing ethics research. The second section
gives a brief overview of the process pursued in the
selection of journals. The third section discusses the defi-
nitions, concepts, and theories in international marketing
ethics research. The fourth section discusses the dominant
topics discussed. The fifth section discusses the countries
studied in international marketing ethics research. The
sixth section discusses the statistical methods used in
research for international marketing ethics. The final sec-
tion presents discussion, the limitations, and future
research.
Methodological Approach
Literature reviews are important in: (1) building an
understanding of theoretical concepts, (2) identifying areas
to which further research would be beneficial, and (3)
facilitating the building of a bibliography or list of sources
that have been consulted (Rowley and Slack 2004). In light
of this, we follow the three-step approach suggested by
researchers (e.g., Schlegelmilch and Öberseder 2010).
First, we outline the topics that should be included in our
analysis. Second, we identify and selected which journals
to investigate. Finally, we select the appropriate database to
start our analysis.
Identification and Selection of Appropriate Journals
A comprehensive search of related research from 1960 to
2013 was conducted to produce a compilation of peer-re-
viewed literature. The start of the time period was chosen
because international marketing has been recognized in the
academic world since the 1960s and has been considered
an important of aspect of international business (Cavusgil
1998). However, the field emerged in the late 1980s with
articles from the 1990s appearing to be the most dominant
in research. As a part of the search strategy, we started our
analysis with a list of 58 journals (Table 1) created by
Schlegelmilch and Öberseder (2010). Based on the existing
literature, we felt that this would be a good starting point
because as the authors state, this list was created based on a
comprehensive citation analysis. These journals were also
used in the marketing ethics literature review by Nill and
Schibrowsky (2007). Once the initial list of articles was
reviewed, we broadened our search for journals with arti-
cles discussing international marketing ethics.
Selection of Appropriate Database and Search
Strategy
In the database selection process, we decided to use
Business Source Complete as a comprehensive database for
journal coverage and time frame. We started our search
using the term ‘‘ethics’’ but due to the volume of articles
extracted from the search process (at least 80,000 articles
retrieved), we to narrowed the search by using ‘‘market-
ing’’ and ‘‘ethics.’’ Fewer articles were retrieved using
these criteria but we retrieved almost 6200 articles. The
next step was to narrow our the research further using the
704 R. G. Javalgi, L. T. M. Russell
123
terms ‘‘international marketing ethics’’ since this is the
topic and the area of research we are focusing on in this
paper. Based on search, we found journals that gave us
additional articles on international marketing ethics.
Our next step was an in-depth review of each article
selected in the database search to determine if international
marketing ethics was the main focus of the article or just
briefly discussed. Based on our research, almost 90 % of
the articles were published between 1990 and 2013. In the
1990s, 28 articles were published. Between 2000 and 2009,
34 articles were published. And 12 articles were published
between 2010 and 2013 with no relevant citations from
2012 or 2013.
Over 80 % of the articles were published in 10 of the 25
journals reviewed. For example, 32 were published in the
Journal of Business Ethics between 1980 and 2013. The
International Marketing Review and the Journal of Macro-
marketing each had 6 articles published between 1980 and
2013. The Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science and
the Journal of Business Research published 4 articles
between 1990 and 2013. The remaining 15 journals, which
published just under 20 % of the articles, had 2 or fewer
articles related to international marketing ethics. Although
the marketing journals are publishing articles in the area of
international marketing ethics, there remains an opportunity
for marketing scholars to advance this important field.
International Marketing Ethics: Definitions, Concepts, and Theories
Definitions and Concepts
Ethics is a historically important branch of philosophy that
focuses on morals and values (Yücel et al. 2009). It broadly
conveys the concepts such as right or wrong, good and evil,
Table 1 Journals used in the starting point of review
Advances in Consumer Research (ACR) Journal of Global Marketing (JGM)
AMA Educators Conference (AMA) Journal of Health Care Marketing (JHCM)
Business Ethics Quarterly (BEQ) Journal of International Business Studies (JIBS)
Brand Strategy (BS) Journal of International Consumer Marketing (JICM)
Business Ethics: A European Review (BE) Journal of International Marketing (JIM)
Business Horizons (BH) Journal of Macromarketing (JMM)
California Management Review (CMR) Journal of Marketing (JM)
Decision Science (DS) Journal of Marketing Education (JME)
European Journal of Marketing (EJM) Journal of Marketing Management (JMMA)
Harvard Business Review (HBR) Journal of Marketing Research (JMR)
Industrial Marketing Management (IMM) Journal of Marketing of Theory and Practice (JMTP)
International Journal of Management (IJM) Journal of Non Profit and Public Sector Marketing (JNPSM)
International Journal of Research in Marketing (IJRM) Journal of Personal Selling and Sales Management (JPSSM)
International Marketing Review (IMR) Journal of Product Innovation Management (JPIM)
Journal of Advertising (JA) Journal of Professional Services Marketing (JPSM)
Journal of Advertising Research (JAR) Journal of Public Policy and Marketing (JPPM)
Journal of Business (JB) Journal of Retailing (JR)
Journal of Business and Industrial Marketing (JBIM) Journal of Services Marketing (JSM)
Journal of Business Ethics (JBE) Journal of Services Research (JSR)
Journal of Business Logistics (JBL) Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science (JAMS)
Journal of Business Research (JBR) Journal of the Market Research Society (JMRS)
Journal of Business-to-Business Marketing (JBBM) Management Science (MS)
Journal of Consumer Affairs (JCA) Marketing Education Review (MER)
Journal of Consumer Marketing (JCM) Marketing Letters (ML)
Journal of Consumer Policy (JCP) Marketing Management (MM)
Journal of Consumer Psychology (JCPS) Marketing Researching (MR)
Journal of Consumer Research (JCR) Marketing Science (MS)
Journal of Direct Marketing (JDM) Psychology and Marketing (PM)
Journal of Economic Psychology (JEP) Sloan Management Review (SMR)
Source Baumgartner and Pieters (2003) and Nill and Schibrowsky (2007)
International Marketing Ethics: A Literature Review and Research Agenda 705
123
virtue and vice, and of being held accountable in this
manner (Brinkmann 2002; Ferrell et al. 1989). Values
provide guidance as we determine right versus wrong, good
versus bad. They are our standards. Morality, on the other
hand, refers to patterns of thought, action, and decision that
are operative in everyday life (Brinkmann 2002). Morals
are values (honesty, integrity) which we attribute to a
system of beliefs (e.g., religious and political). Ethics is
about our actions and decisions. In a business context,
marketing ethics or marketing morality relate to such issues
as product safety, bribery, deceptive advertising, deceptive
pricing, etc. Good ethical practices and decision making
will bring long-term benefits for the company, thus
enhancing its image at the international level.
When discussing international marketing ethics, we may
sometimes assume that there are little or no differences in
ethical behavior from country to country. Minimizing these
differences may cause major ethical issues in business.
Since individuals may be members of their home countries,
but work in a host country where the professional or
organizational culture is different from where they were
born (Bailey and Spicer 2007), one cannot make assump-
tions that ethical behavior in both countries are similar. An
individual’s national culture may be more of a predictor on
his or her attitudes of behavior though it may be of little
significance to others (Bailey and Spicer 2007).
International marketing scholars and practitioners are
finding that there may be differences in ethical standards,
values, and beliefs between their home country and the
host country. These differences may have an effect on the
way these managers handle business situations from
country to country as well as lead to ethical problems in
international marketing (Robertson and Crittenden 2003).
In the extant literature, finding a comprehensive defini-
tion on international marketing ethics proved to be a
challenging task (Iyer 2001; Asgary and Mitschow 2002).
In reviewing the articles for this paper, we find that while
there are multiple definitions related to ethics, there is no
clear or concise definition of international marketing eth-
ics. We find variations of definitions related to ethics but
not one that clearly defines international marketing ethics.
Table 2 shows some definitions related to ethics, business
ethics, and marketing ethics.
Table 2 also shows that there are common themes
among all the definitions. The core themes of the defini-
tions appear to deal with the moral behavior based on a
particular situation. These situations include moral values
(Brenner and Molander 1977) which are also applied to the
marketing decision making process, or moral judgments,
standards, and rules (Vitell 1986; Yoo and Donthu 2002).
Based on Table 2, we believe there is a need for a more
comprehensive definition of international marketing ethics.
Building on the existing literature, we define international
marketing ethics as the inquiry in the nature and grounds of
moral judgments, standards, and rules of conduct relating
to international marketing decisions and marketing situa-
tions in international business. This definition captures the
true essence and describes what international marketing
ethics is.
Major Theories Used in Ethics Research
Various theoretical approaches of ethics in international
marketing have emerged throughout time. Existing
research discusses descriptive and normative approaches in
business ethics. Normative approaches focus on what
individuals ought to do when faced with an ethical situa-
tion. On the other hand, descriptive approaches focus on
what the individuals actually do when faced with an ethical
situation (Fukukawa 2003). In this paper, we focus on the
normative theoretical approaches to business ethics
because based on our review, we find that most existing
literature fall under the Normative Theories. The Norma-
tive Theories include Cognitive Moral Development The-
ory, Stockholder Theory, Stakeholder Theory, and Social
Contracts Theory. In this section, we will focus on these
theories as well as briefly discuss Integrative Social Con-
tracts Theory, which is said to be an important example of
a contextual approach within the broad domain of con-
tractualist business ethics (Dunfee 2006).
Cognitive Moral Development Theory
The marketing field has been targeted with criticism about
its ethical behavior (Goolsby and Hunt 1992). Marketing as
a functional area has been often cited with ethical abuse
and ethics in marketing has been questioned. Based on
these issues, marketing constitutes a morally complex
environment. This would encourage the cognitive moral
development of marketing professionals (Goolsby and
Hunt 1992). The theory of cognitive moral development
(CMD) states that the CMD approach to moral reasoning
centers around the progressive way in which an individual
acquires, through time, an increasingly accurate under-
standing of the nature of moral obligations in complex
social systems (Rest 1979). CMD has been used in the
study of ethics when exploring the moral reasoning and
ethical judgments of individuals as it relates to marketing.
Goolsby and Hunt (1992) note that marketers with high
levels of CMD tend to be female, highly educated, are
more cognizant of social responsibility of business, and
may be less likely to act in a socially irresponsible way
than marketers with low CMD.
There has been criticism of using CMD in marketing
ethics. Authors find there is gender bias in the sample
because an all-male sample was used in the theory
706 R. G. Javalgi, L. T. M. Russell
123
development, and there are issues with the generalizability
of the research and deductive issues (Fraedrich et al. 1994).
Fraedrich and Ferrell (1992) find that 85 percent of the
respondents in their research changed their philosophical
behaviors when they went from work to nonwork
situations.
Stockholder Theory
In addition to CMD, the academic research shows that
normative theories include stockholder theory, stakeholder
theory, social contracts theory, and integrative social con-
tracts theory (which appears to be an extension of social
contracts theory). The stockholder theory posits that busi-
nesses are simply arrangements by which stockholders
advance capital to managers. This advanced capital is used
to realize specified ends for which the stockholders receive
ownership in a particular venture (Hasnas 1998). Bishop
(2000, p. 7) states that the stockholder theory is ‘‘identifi-
able by its advocacy of the decision principle that business
people ought to maximize the wealth of the owners of the
business enterprise they work for.’’ In other words, the
company’s (or manager’s) only responsibility is to maxi-
mize profits.
Managers are legally obligated to follow directions of
the stockholders, whatever they may be (Hasnas 1998).
While managers are expected to increase profitability, they
do not have a ‘‘moral blank check’’ that allow them to
ignore ethical constraints in their pursuit for profits (Hasnas
1998). Managers have an obligation to increase profits but
they must do it by legal, nondeceptive means.
The stockholder theory has been widely criticized by
researchers. Although it has been called the most promising
normative theory of business ethics (Hasnas 1998),
research reveals that it has serious problems at the level of
context and structure because the theory puts forward as a
basis of argument a moral obligation to maximize the
interests of owners, it cannot be morally legitimated
without giving a moral justification of who gets to be the
owners and who will be nonowners (Bishop 2000). There is
also the objection that it is not wrong to spend other peo-
ple’s money without their consent as long as it is done to
promote the public interest (Hasnas 1998).
Stakeholder Theory
The stakeholder theory, which is the most widely accepted
of the three normative theories, addresses the morals and
values in managing an organization. The stakeholder the-
ory posits that business enterprises ought to consider the
interests of all those affected by the firm’s actions (Bishop
2000). It states that business enterprises have a moral
obligation to consider the interests of all stakeholders (i.e.,
stockholders, employees, customers, etc.) regardless of
whether or not this is instrumentally beneficial to the firm
or its owners. The theory also contends that a business’s
financial success can best be achieved by giving the
interests of the business’s stockholders, customers,
employees, suppliers, etc., proper consideration, and
adopting policies which produce the optimal balance
among them (Hasnas 1998). It states management’s fun-
damental obligation is not only to maximize the firm’s
financial success, but also to ensure its survival by bal-
ancing conflicting claims of multiple stakeholders.
The stakeholder theory has also been criticized by
researchers. Bishop (2000) states that in order for the the-
ory to be successful, three issues need to be addressed:
First, it needs to be clearly defined by interests. Second, it
needs to specify a usable and clear decision principle, and
it needs to give grounds for considering the interests of all
Table 2 Definitions and concepts
Author Definition
Lewis (1985) Business ethics: ‘‘rules, standards, codes, or principles which provide guidelines for morally right
behavior and truthfulness in specific situations’’
De George (1994) International Business Ethics: ‘‘the comparison of business practices and their ethical evaluations in
different countries’’
Brenner and Molander (1977) Marketing ethics: ‘‘not only the moral values and duties of the profession itself, but also the existing
value and expectations of the larger society’’
Vitell (1986-doctoral dissertation); Yoo
& Donthu (2002)
Marketing ethics: ‘‘an inquiry into the nature and grounds of moral judgments, standards, and rules of
conduct relating to marketing decisions and marketing situations’’
Singhapakdi and Vitell (1990) Marketing ethics: ‘‘an inquiry into the nature and grounds of moral judgments, standards and rules of
conduct relating to marketing situations’’
Murphy et al. (2005) Marketing ethics: ‘‘the systematic study of how moral standards are applied to marketing decisions,
behaviors and institutions’’
Murphy (1999) Virtue ethics: ‘‘an ethical philosophy that focuses on the moral character of an individual’’
International Marketing Ethics: A Literature Review and Research Agenda 707
123
stakeholders. Third, though the stakeholder theory is
widely accepted, the theory is not well grounded (Hasnas
1998).
Social Contracts Theory
The final normative theory is the social contracts theory,
which is attracting a lot of attention in the business ethics
field (Dunfee et al. 1999). The Social Contracts theory
(SCT) been used in marketing research as well as mar-
keting ethics research. According to the SCT, Donaldson’s
(1982, 1989) states that the firm may offer advantages to
society (defined as its customers and employees) in an
exchange for the right to exist and prosper (Donaldson
1982, 1989). This type of exchange relationship between
the firm and customers is important and fundamental to
marketing.
In marketing ethics research, the SCT has been dis-
cussed in the context of direct marketing and consumer
awareness. The theory posits that all businesses are ethi-
cally obligated to enhance the welfare of society by sat-
isfying consumer and employee interests without violating
any of the cannons of justice (Hasnas 1998). The theory
also states that there is an implicit contract between the
members of society and businesses in which the members
of society grant businesses the right to exist in return for
certain specified benefits. In other words, the business
exists through the cooperation and commitment of
society.
The SCT has its share of criticisms. The theory is often
criticized for not being a contract at all. There is no
meeting of the minds as with an implicit contract or no
explicit agreement made in speech or writing as with an
expressed contract (Hasnas 1998). Since social contracts
theory is neither implied nor expressed, it is sometimes
referred to as a quasi-contract. A quasi-contract consists of
a contractual relationship where there has been no meeting
of the minds or explicit agreements because such is nec-
essary to avoid injustice (Hasnas 1998).
Integrative Social Contracts Theory
Integrative social contracts theory (ISCT) may be consid-
ered an extension of social contracts theory. ISCT provides
a coherent framework for resolving ethical issues that arise
among different communities (Dunfee et al. 1999). It was
developed by Donaldson and Dunfee (1999) in response to
their observations that the practitioner had ethical theories
that went ‘‘nowhere’’ (Gosling and Huang 2009). The ISCT
is particularly appropriate because marketers engage in
boundary-spanning relationships and cross-cultural activi-
ties. This theory posits that the ethical choices made in
business should also take the environment into
consideration and are embedded in situational norms and
practices of the community in which the business operates.
The primary purpose of ISCT is to provide practitioners,
especially managers, practical guidance to ethical decision
making (Dunfee 2006). The author states that the theory is
designed to enhance ethical decision making practices by
requiring managers to consider the impact of their deci-
sions on relevant communities while simultaneously
insisting that they step even farther back and ask whether
the decision implicates universal moral principles. In this
context, communities are defined as groups of people (self-
defined and self-circumscribed) who interact in the context
of shared tasks, values, or goals. This group is also capable
of establishing norms ethical behaviors themselves (Lucas
2001).
As with the other theories, ISCT has its criticisms. Some
critics have stated that ISCT is in the eye of the beholder
and subject to biased applications (i.e., political or social
biases could result in two individuals coming to contra-
dictory conclusions when applying ISCT) (Dunfee 2006).
Another criticism is in relation to hypernorms. ISCT makes
use of hypernorms, which is the element of integration
within ISCT (Dunfee 2006). Hypernorms represent the
norms by which all other are to be judged (Lucas 2001).
Some critics wonder if hypernorms can be identified for
actual decision making, should hypernorms be redefined in
some significant way, or are hypernorms even significant in
the framework of ISCT (Dunfee 2006).
In the ensuing section, we focus on the primary research
topics/areas related to the International Marketing ethics.
Primary Areas of Research Topics
Various topics have been researched in international mar-
keting ethics. In our review, we find that certain topics
appear to be dominant in the literature. Table 3 shows the
main areas of research discussed in the articles. Table is
ordered by the number of articles discussing the primary
topics discussed in the literature. The main topics discussed
are perceptions of ethical problems, moral philosophies
(including deontological and teleological evaluations), and
culture and ethics (see Table 3). A brief discussion of these
topics is presented below.
Ethical problems and Judgments
Much of the literature we encountered discusses ethical
problems in cross-cultural research. Of the 84 articles
reviewed, 20 % of the articles focus on ethical problems
and judgments. Ethical problems may differ from country
to country and culture to culture. For example, Marta et al.
(2000) find that business students from the U.S. and New
708 R. G. Javalgi, L. T. M. Russell
123
Zealand generally perceived ethical problems to be more
serious than did Indian business students. Even if countries
are perceived to have similar cultures, the ethical problems
managers may encounter in each country may be different.
Armstrong et al. (1990) state that the most salient ethical
problems for Australian managers involved in international
business are problems such as bribery, cultural differences,
pricing, gifts/favors/entertainment, questionable commis-
sions, product/technology transfer, involvement in politics,
tax evasion, and illegal/immoral activities. The authors also
find that Americans and Australians have similar percep-
tions of the ethical problems normally encountered in
international marketing, and they differ little with regard to
ethical issues and management practices. Singhapakdi et al.
(2001) finds that the Australian marketers tend to be less
likely than American marketers to perceive ethical prob-
lems as well as more likely to agree with the unethical
actions depicted. These differences may mean that mar-
keters from these two countries wish to engage in business
transactions with each other may have to find an accept-
able common ground in terms of their ethical beliefs.
Armstrong and Sweeney (1994) find that managers from
Hong Kong perceived ethical problems as less frequent in
their organizations, industries, and particular country and
less important than Australian managers. The authors state
that as a firms’ level of involvement in a foreign country
increases, the culture of the management has the greatest
effect on perceptions of ethical problems and may also
increase the perceptions of ethical problems. Kavali et al.
(2001) find that marketing professionals are confronted
with a wide variety of ethical problems, with those con-
cerning gifts most frequently cited. Corporate policy
instruments such as codes of ethics were suggested but the
authors find that corporate code of ethics alone are not
enough to increase ethical standards.
Moral Philosophies
Much of marketing theory and research focuses on rela-
tivism and idealism when trying to understand ethical
behavior (Rawwas et al. 2013). In our review of the arti-
cles, 15 % of research articles are in the areas of moral
philosophies that are broken out into two streams—moral
idealism and moral relativism. Moral idealism describes
the degree to which individuals understand actions such as
right or wrong, and the degree to which they believe that
they will be able to obtain the consequences they desire.
Moral relativism is the degree to which an individual
rejects universal moral norms in making ethical decisions
(Singhapakdi et al. 2001). Highly relativistic individuals
tend to evaluate moral actions based on the situations, the
culture, and individuals involved, whereas less relativistic
individuals will evaluate the actions based on moral prin-
ciples (Marta et al. 2000). Dong-Jin and Sirgy (1999)
compare moral philosophies of Korean and American
marketers and find that Korean marketers are more ideal-
istic than American marketers.
Moral philosophies may or may not have an effect on
moral intensity depending on the culture being studied.
Jones (1991) describes moral intensity as a construct that
‘‘captures the extent of issue-related moral imperative in a
situation.’’ This construct is multidimensional and its
components include characteristics of the moral issue such
as social consensus and magnitude of consequences or
probability of effect. Singh et al. (2007) replicate a study of
the relationship among moral philosophies, moral intensity,
and ethical decision making using a cross-cultural sample.
The authors find that for the U.S. sample, relativism had
virtually no significant impact on perceived moral inten-
sity. In contrast, with the Chinese sample, the relationship
between relativism and perceived moral intensity is sig-
nificant. The authors also find that U.S. marketers may
believe that actions are moral only if they yield positive
consequences through conformity to specific moral abso-
lutes. In regard to idealism, the authors find that the U.S.
sample was significantly higher than the Chinese sample in
terms of idealism but significantly lower in terms of rela-
tivism. Chinese decision makers were found to rely on both
idealism and relativism when determining the moral
intensity of a situation.
In a study comparing Thai and American marketing
professionals, Singhapakdi et al. (1994) stated that Thai
marketers were more relativistic and more idealistic than
American marketing professionals. Also, relative to their
American counterparts, Thai marketers are more likely to
rely on the nature of the ethical issue or the circumstances
and rely less on universal moral principles when making
moral judgments. This is supported by the fact that Thai
marketers also tend to judge each ethical action as more
acceptable than the American marketers.
While comparing American and Malaysian consumers,
Singhapakdi et al. (1999) find Malaysian consumers are
less likely to perceive any aspects of the moral intensity of
Table 3 Primary areas of study
Area of study Number of articles
Focusing on areas
of study
Culture and ethics 21
Ethical problems and judgments 18
Moral philosophies 13
Ethical attitudes and behavior 11
Ethical decision making 7
Other 13
Total 83
International Marketing Ethics: A Literature Review and Research Agenda 709
123
marketing ethics situations in comparison to their Ameri-
can counterparts. Malaysian consumers tend to be less
idealistic and more relativistic in their moral philosophies
than American consumers. The authors conclude that
Malaysian consumers would be less sensitive to unethical
marketing practices than American consumers. Findings
like this should send a message to international marketers
operating in a country similar to Malaysia. These marketers
may achieve success with lower ethical standards than they
would be able to with a country that has the same cultural
values and moral philosophies as America.
Deontological and Teleological Evaluation
Deontological norms are defined as predetermined guide-
lines or rules used to evaluate whether behaviors are ethical
or unethical when making decisions (Long-Chuan et al.
1999). Teleological norms suggest that individuals evaluate
the badness or goodness of a behavior in a situation and the
consequences associated with that behavior (Yücel et al.
2009). In a study of marketing ethics and international
marketing ethics, researchers discuss deontological and
teleological norms and evaluations as they relates to ethical
decision making and ethical marketing ethical judgments.
Akaah (1997) finds that the marketing professionals pri-
marily rely on deontological factors when forming an
ethical judgment. They would use teleological factors as a
secondary option when forming the same ethical judgment.
On the other hand, findings from other researchers show
that teleological factors are the strongest influence on
marketing managers’ ethical judgment and intentions
(Mayo and Marks 1990). Along the same lines, in an
exploratory study done on students from the U.S. and New
Zealand, the authors find that 52 % of the students from
New Zealand used teleological factors when making
decisions (Okleshen and Hoyt 1996).
Culture and Ethics
In our research, one out of four articles fall into the cate-
gory of culture and ethics. Culture and ethics are inter-
twined. Culture may be used when discussing topics such
as marketing education, corporate ethical values, or deon-
tological and teleological evaluations. Culture can be
defined as the collective programming of the mind with
distinct cultural differences among people from different
nationalities (Paul et al. 2006). Culture is thought to be a
key determinant of ethical attitudes of business managers
(Christie et al. 2003). Culture is also considered one of the
broadest influences on many of the dimensions of human
behavior (Soares et al. 2007). Culture plays an important
role in influencing an individual’s ethical perception,
decision making, and attitude (Burnaz et al. 2009) and is an
important influencing factor in ethical decision making,
and there is a variation of ethical decisions across cultures
(Singhapakdi and Vitell 1999).
Culture cannot be discussed without considering Hof-
stede’s six dimensions of culture: uncertainty avoidance,
masculinity versus femininity, individualism vs. collec-
tivism, power distance, long-term orientation, and indul-
gence versus restraint. In uncertainty avoidance,
individuals tend to believe that loyalty to employers is a
virtue, whereas individuals with low uncertainty avoidance
are not as likely to do so (Vitell and Hidalgo 2006). In
regard to masculinity versus femininity, masculine indi-
viduals are characterized as assertive, aggressive, ambi-
tious, competitive, and materialistic, while feminine
individuals are described as modest, humble, nurturing, and
responsible (Long-Chuan et al. 1999). With collectivism
versus individualism scale, in collectivist societies, the
interests of the group prevail over the interests of the
individual; in individualist societies, the interests of the
individual prevail over the interests of the group (Christie
et al. 2003). Power distance is defined as the extent to
which less powerful individuals in a society accept
inequality in power and consider it normal (Vitell et al.
1993). The long-term orientation characterizes cultures
which place more importance on values associated with
future orientation (Christie et al. 2003). In regard to
indulgence versus restraint, indulgence refers to society
that allows relatively free gratification of basic natural
human desires related to enjoying life and having fun.
Restraint on the other hand refers to a society that controls
gratification of needs and regulates it by means of strict
social norms (Hofstede 2011).
With the exception of indulgence versus restraint, these
dimensions have been used in research to evaluate ethical
problems faced by global marketing managers. For exam-
ple, Armstrong (1996) finds ethical problems in interna-
tional marketing reflect that culture with higher levels of
Uncertainty Avoidance and cultures with high levels of
Individualism perceive higher levels of importance
regarding ethical problems. In regard to indulgence versus
restraint, we find that the research is limited as it relates to
international business/international marketing ethics. We
also reviewed Geert Hofstede’s most recent work and
found that there is limited data and research on this
dimension.
Industries are aware that cultural differences must be
taken into consideration (Asgary and Mitschow 2002).
Chan and Armstrong (1999) cite cultural differences as an
explanatory measure for explaining the perceived ethical
differences Australian and Canadian marketing managers
may have in international marketing transactions. Keating
et al. (2007) state that differences in cultural values are
also associated with expectations regarding moral
710 R. G. Javalgi, L. T. M. Russell
123
behavior and issues of a moral or ethical nature. In their
study of marketing managers from Hong Kong and
Australia, Armstrong and Sweeney (1994) find that the
culture of the manager has the greatest effect on per-
ceptions of ethical problems. Other researchers have
found that certain ethical norms tend to transcend culture
(Izraeli 1988).
The ethical issues experienced in international market-
ing may not the same ethical issues experienced in
domestic marketing. In international settings, differences in
culture have the potential to create ethical dilemmas (Yücel
et al. 2009). When researching the ethical perceptions and
judgments of Thai and American marketers, researchers
find that Thai marketers tend to be less likely to perceive
ethical problems than their American counterparts (Sing-
hapakdi et al. 1994). However, it should not be assumed
that ethical standards of two countries are the same even if
their cultures appear to be similar. Although the U.S. and
Australia may appear to have similar cultures, researchers
find that there are significant differences in the moral
philosophies of Australian and American marketers
(Singhapakdi et al. 2001).
Marketing Education
With regard to marketing education, research has been
done on the ethical behavior and beliefs of students in
various countries. Whipple and Swords (1992) find that the
demographics (i.e., age, years of college education, and
work experience) of students in the U.S. and the United
Kingdom (UK) do not affect their ethical judgment based
on the differences in countries. In regard to confidentiality
and research integrity, U.S. students are more critical than
the students from the UK. The authors attribute this to
differences in the political and educational systems, cul-
tural differences, or a lag in the development of a broad
debate on ethics issues in the UK.
In their survey comparing marketing students, non-
business students, and nonmarketing major business stu-
dents, Yoo and Donthu (2002) find that marketing ethics
may not be developed adequately without a focus in ethics
in marketing education. Their research shows that the
marketing majors who were surveyed were ethically sen-
sitive to marketing issues when compared to their students
who were not business majors. However, the authors go on
to say that the length of university education and age are
more significant factors for marketing ethics than majoring
in marketing. The authors state that the roles that cultural
values play on marketing ethics shed light on how to teach
marketing ethics more effectively and marketing educators
should train students to avoid ethical pitfalls resulting from
cultural values differences by discussing relevant business
illustrations.
Corporate Ethical Values
Corporate ethical values (CEV) are a scale that reflects an
organization’s culture on ethical behavior. The scale
attempts to quantify the ethical corporate climate in which
the respondent works. Burnaz et al. (2009) find that busi-
ness people from Thailand perceive that their companies
have lower ethical values as compared to their Turkish and
American counterparts. Singhapakdi et al. (2001) state that
Australian and American cultures are similar when com-
paring corporate ethical values. It may be inferred that the
similarity in CEV is due to the similarity in cultures.
Additionally, Marta and Singhapakdi (2005) find that
economically developed countries are more aware of ethics
and American organizations are found to have higher
corporate ethical values than Thai organizations.
Countries Studied in International Marketing Ethics
A variety of countries have been used in international
marketing ethics research. Table 4 shows the countries that
were used in the articles we reviewed. In our research, we
find that many articles base their research on a western
(specifically the U.S.) perspective. For example, as shown
in Table 4, countries studied are U.S. and United Kingdom,
U.S. and Australia, and U.S and emerging markets such as
Korea, India, and China. This may potentially cause
problems or limitations to the research because it instills a
U.S. perspective (Cavusgil 1998; Cavusgil et al. 2005;
Leonidou et al. 2010).
We find some overarching themes presented by the
authors. These themes are ethical problems, moral
philosophies, and perceived importance of ethics. When
discussing ethical problems between Australian and
American marketers, Australian marketers tend to be less
likely than American marketers to perceive ethical prob-
lems as well as more likely to agree with the unethical
actions depicted (Singhapakdi et al. 2001). The authors
state that these differences may mean that marketers from
these two nations wishing to do business with each other
may have to find an acceptable common ground in terms of
their ethical beliefs. Armstrong and Sweeney (1994) find
that managers from Hong Kong perceive ethical problems
less frequently in their organizations, industries, and par-
ticular country and as less important than Australian
managers.
When discussing moral philosophies, Dong-Jin and
Sirgy (1999) state that Korean marketers are morally ide-
alistic and less relativistic than their American counter-
parts. Korean marketers are also more ethnocentric which
could be due to the fact that it is a collectivist society in
International Marketing Ethics: A Literature Review and Research Agenda 711
123
Table 4 Contries Studied in International Marketing Ethics
Author Countries sampled Research focus Findings
Whipple, T., & Swords, D. US and United Kingdom Culture and
Ethics
The demographic profiles (age, work experience, business
major, and years of college education) of students from
the U.S. and the UK did not affect their ethics judgment
by country differences; in terms of confidentiality and
research integrity, U.S. students are more critical than
students from the UK
Singhapakdi, A.., Marta, J.,
Rao, C., & Cicic, M.
Australia and US Ethical problems
and judgment
Australian marketers are more idealistic and more
relativistic than Americans marketers; although
Australian and American cultures appear similar, data
only support similarities as it relates to corporate ethical
values dimension; on other ethical dimensions,
especially with regard to personal moral philosophies,
significant differences were detected between the
American and the Australian marketers
Armstrong, R., & Sweeney, J. Australia, Hong Kong Ethical problems
and judgment
Managers from Hong Kong perceived ethical problems as
less frequent in their organizations, industries, and
particular country and less important than Australian
managers; the culture of the manager has the greatest
effect on perceptions of ethical problems; increase in the
perceptions of ethical problems as firms’ level of
involvement in foreign country increases
Chan, T.S., & Armstrong Australia, Canada Ethical problems
and judgment
Australian and Canadian managers are fairly similar in
their frequency rankings of various ethical problems in
international marketing; Australian and Canadian
managers differ in their attitudes toward the importance
of the ethical problems when compared to the frequency
of occurrence of ethical problems
Armstrong, R. Australia, Singapore,
Malaysia
Ethical problems
and judgment
The findings suggests that, first, there is a relationship
between ethical perceptions and two of Hofstede’s
cultural variables. Second, the results reflect that cultures
with higher levels of Uncertainty Avoidance and
Individualism perceive higher levels of the importance of
ethical problems
Lee, D.; Sirgy, M.J. US, Korea Moral
Philosophies
Korean marketers are morally idealistic and less relativistic
than their American counterparts; marketers’
ethnocentrism play a negative role in marketers’
disposition to enhance consumers’ well-being in a manner
not adversely affecting other stakeholder groups; a
marketers’ moral philosophy plays a positive role in IQOL
Burnaz, S., Atakan, M., Topcu,
Y., & Singhapakdi, A.
Turkey, Thailand, US Ethical Attitudes
and Behaviors
Thai and Turkish businesspeople evaluate the overall harm
created by unethical marketing behavior as lower than
their American counterparts; Thai businesspeople
perceive that their companies have less ethical values as
compared to their Turkish and American counterparts;
Turkish businesspeople perceive ethics to be less
important for business success than their Thai &
American counterparts
Christie, P., Kwon, I., Stoeberl,
P., & Baumhart, R.
India, Korea, US Ethical Attitudes
and Behaviors
Culture has a strong influence on business managers’ attitudes
toward both business ethics in general and various
questionable business practices in particular; business
managers’ attitudes toward business ethics are related to
their personal integrity; their attitudes toward particular
questionable practices are related to the external
environment and gender, as well as to theirpersonal integrity
Izraeli, D. Israel Ethical Attitudes
and Behaviors
The managers rated themselves favorably on both the
belief and the behavioral dimensions Israeli managers
rate themselves higher on almost all items than do their
American counterparts; the managers rated themselves
more ethical than their peers on both the belief and
behavior dimensions
712 R. G. Javalgi, L. T. M. Russell
123
Table 4 continued
Author Countries sampled Research focus Findings
Kavali, S., Tzokas, N., &
Saren, M.
Greece Culture and
Ethics
Marketing professionals are confronted with a wide
variety of ethical problems, with those concerning gifts
most frequently cited; corporate policy instruments and,
specifically, codes of ethics were suggested but the
authors find that corporate code of ethics alone are not
enough to increase ethical standards
Singh, J., Vitell, S., Al-Khatib,
J., & Clark, I.
China, US Moral
Philosophies
U.S. sample is significantly higher than the Chinese
sample in terms of idealism but significantly lower in
terms of relativism; Chinese decision makers seem to
rely on both idealism and relativism when determining
the moral intensity of a situation
Long-Chuan, L., Rose, G., &
Blodgett, J.
Taiwan, US Moral
Philosophies
Authors found no difference between the extent to which
U.S. and Taiwanese agents identified with a set of
common, industry-wide deontological norms
Okleshen, M., & Hoyt, R. US, New Zealand Moral
Philosophies
The USA student group split almost evenly into
teleological and deontological decision approaches,
whereas a larger share (52 percent) of the NZ students
professed a teleological decision approach
Armstrong, R. Australia Ethical Attitudes
and Behaviors
Gifts, favors, and entertainment are cited as most frequent
ethical problem and may be related to the culture where
the international business is being conducted; the most
important ethical problem is large-scale bribery
Erffmeyer, R. C., Keillor, B.
D., & LeClair, D.
Japan Ethical Attitudes
and Behaviors
Results show that the group being studied generally reported
low mean scores on the acceptability of actively benefiting
from actions perceived as unethical or potentially
unethical; these scores tend to increase as the consumer
behavior in question moves onto more solid ethical ground
Singhapakdi, A., Gopinath, M.,
Marta, J., & Carter, L.
Thailand Culture and
Ethics
Thai managers who perceive an ethical problem in a
situation to be more likely to have an ethical intention
than Thai managers who do not perceive an ethical
problem in a situation
McKinney, J., & Moore, C. US Culture and
Ethics
Almost half of the U.S. business professionals surveyed
found that bribery was acceptable one way or another;
respondents were less likely be accepting of
international bribery if they worked in a business firm
with a written code of ethics
Sarwono, S. S., & Armstrong,
R. W.
Indonesia (Javanese, Batak
and Indonesian-Chinese)
Ethical Attitudes
and Behaviors
Individuals from different ethnic microcultures may have
different starting points in business ethics; individuals
with high religious orientation is more likely to perceive
ethical problems
Marta, J., Singhapakdi, A.,
Rallapalli, K., & Joseph, M.
India, New Zealand, US Ethical problems
and judgment
Thai managers who perceive ethics to be important were
more likely to have an ethical intention than Thai
managers who do not perceive ethics to be important
Singhapakdi, A., Rawwas, M.,
Marta, J., & Ahmed, M.
Malaysia; US Ethical problems
and judgment
Malaysian consumers will be less sensitive to unethical
marketing practices than US consumers; one might argue
that international marketers operating in a country similar
to Malaysia could get by with lower ethical standards than
they would be able to do in a country like the USA
Paul, P., Roy, A., &
Mukhopadhyay, K.
US and India Moral
Philosophies
US and India exhibit different cultural values that lead to
different interpretations of marketing ethical norms
Kam-hon, L., Gong-ming, Q.,
Yu, J., & Ho, Y.
Hong Kong, Mainland China,
US
Moral
Philosophies
Executives from different cultures have different ethical
convictions; U.S. executives follow deontological
philosophies—they comply with a set of ethical
standards
Akaah, I. US Moral
Philosophies
Results imply that when marketing professionals are faced
with an ethical problem/situation, they rely on both
deontological and teleological evaluation processes in
arriving at their ethical judgments.
International Marketing Ethics: A Literature Review and Research Agenda 713
123
which the culture tend to have rigid social norms. Sing-
hapakdi et al. (1994) find that Thai marketers are both more
idealistic and more relativistic and Thai marketers are more
likely to accept the absolutism of idealism than American
marketers. Also, relative to their American counterparts,
Thai marketers are more likely to rely on the nature of the
Table 4 continued
Author Countries sampled Research focus Findings
Mayo, M., & Marks, L. US Moral
Philosophies
Teleological evaluations were found to have the strongest
influence on the managers’ Ethical Judgments and
Intentions
Marta, J.; Singhapakdi Thailand, US Ethical problems
and judgment
Economically developed countries are more aware of
ethics; American managers more likely to perceive the
unethical behaviors to be more serious than Thai
managers
Singhapakdi, A.., Vitell, S., &
Leelakulthanit, O.
Thailand, US Moral
Philosophies
Relative to their American counterparts, and contrary to
our expectations, the Thai marketers are more likely to
rely on the nature of the ethical issue or the
circumstances and rely less on universal moral principles
when making moral judgments
Rawwas, M. A. US, Ireland, Austria, Egypt,
Lebanon, Hong Kong,
Australia, Indonesia
Moral
Philosophies
Significant differences between the various cultural groups
in terms of their ‘‘ethical belief,’’ ‘‘moral philosophies
and Machiavellianism
Marta, J., Singhapakdi, A.,
Attia, A., & Vitell, S. J.
Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia Ethical Attitudes
and Behaviors
There is no relationship between age and ethical intentions
of Middle Eastern marketers
Abromaityt_e-Sereikien_e, L. Lithuania Moral Philosophies
Factor of moral development stages of an individual acts
as positive factor in decision making process if a
decision making individual is not lower than in the stage
of moral development of an individual
Singhapakdi, A.., Karande, K.,
Rao, C. P., & Vitell, S. J.
Malaysia, South Africa, US,
Australia
Ethical Attitudes
and Behaviors
Multinational companies who transfer employees between
these four countries can help them anticipate differences
in perceptions about the importance of ethics and social
responsibility relative to different aspects of
organizational effectiveness
Armstrong, R.; Stening, B. W.;
Ryans, J.K.; Marks, L.;
Mayo, M.
Australia, US (for
comparison)
Ethical Attitudes
and Behaviors
American and Australians have similar perceptions of the
ethical problems normally encountered in international
marketing; executives may be more inclined to see
others as responsible for their ethical dilemmas, rather
than themselves, these results match the experience of
American firms
Sims, R. South Africa, Turkey,
Western Australia, Israel,
Jamaica, West Indies
Ethical Attitudes
and Behaviors
Respondents from Jamaica reported significantly different
attitudes toward business ethics than did the respondents
from the USA. Hofstede’s dimensions do not adequately
account for these reported differences in attitudes toward
business ethics; Jamaican respondents feel less strongly
than the Turkish and Israeli respondents that businesses
are exempt from the morality that traditionally govern
personal behavior
Sang Yong, K., & Sung Yong
Chun, R. L.
Korea Ethical Attitudes
and Behaviors
Like their Western counterparts, perceived ethical
problems of Koreans enterprises are bribery, unfair price
increases, exaggerated advertising, and sexual
discrimination; the Younger generation in Korea is less
ethical and makes immoral decisions, whereas the older
generation has a less ethical attitude toward bribery
Ming-Tien, T., & Chia-Mei, S. Taiwan Moral
Philosophies
Marketing managers in organizations with more ethical
culture are more idealistic than their counterparts in
organizations with less ethical culture. Marketing
managers with a greater idealistic ideology experience a
higher level of role conflict; marketing managers with a
greater relativistic ideology experience a lower level of
role conflict
714 R. G. Javalgi, L. T. M. Russell
123
ethical issue or the circumstances and rely less on universal
moral principles when making moral judgments.
In the discussion of perceived importance of ethics,
Armstrong et al. (1990) find that Americans and Aus-
tralians have similar perceptions of ethical problems nor-
mally encountered in international marketing and differ
little with regard to ethical issues and management prac-
tices related to ethical problems. Also, in American firms,
executives may be more inclined to see others as respon-
sible for their ethical dilemmas, rather than themselves.
Sang Yong and Chun (2003) find that perceived ethical
problems of Korean enterprises are bribery, unfair price
increases, exaggerated advertising, and sexual discrimina-
tion. This is the same as their Western counterparts. Sec-
ond, the authors find that the younger generation in Korea
is less ethical and makes immoral decisions, whereas the
older generation has a less ethical attitude toward bribery.
Third, Koreans in the 30 s show a unique ethical sense
compared to the other age-groups.
Statistical Methods
In our study, we classified the articles into two categories:
empirical and conceptual. In our research, a majority of the
articles reviewed fall into the category of empirical
research.
The empirical articles dealt with subjects such as
effective global leadership (Howard 2010); virtue ethics
(Murphy 1999); a call for a global code of ethics (Rallapalli
1999); ethical judgments, ethical perceptions, and ethical
decision making (Akaah 1997; Whipple and Swords 1992;
Kavali et al. 2001); and how religious beliefs affect ethical
decisions (Saeed et al. 2001a, b).
Various statistical methods were used in the articles we
reviewed. Based on our research, we find that the methods
used in the articles are analysis of variance (ANOVA),
multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA), regression
analysis, confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), and
exploratory factor analysis (EFA).
ANOVA is the most used method in the articles (20 %)
we reviewed. The technique is used when the researcher
wants to show the differences in groups. For example, it
was used to show the differences in groups when analyzing
microcultures of the Japanese, Batak and Indonesian-Chi-
nese groups in Indonesia (Sarwono and Armstrong 2001).
MANOVA, an extension of ANOVA techniques, is used
to study multiple studies. Rawwas (2001) uses MANOVA
(as well as EFA and multiple discriminant analysis) to
determine the significant differences between various cul-
tural groups in terms of ethical beliefs, moral philosophies,
and Machiavellianism when studying cultures in the U.S.,
Ireland, Austria, Egypt, Lebanon, Australia, Hong Kong,
and Indonesia. The author’s findings show that while
functionalists tend to be more pragmatic, deferents are
inclined to have a stringent ethical belief. In respect to
moral philosophies, abolitionists are more idealistic,
achievers tend to be more relativistic. Abolitionists are also
willing to treat others in the same way they expect others to
treat them and may judge their behavior on the basis of
whether it infringes individual rights or universal rules and
at accordingly.
Factor analysis, exploratory and confirmatory, have
been used as well. EFA is conducted without the researcher
knowing how many factors really exist or which variables
belong to which latent construct. Researchers have rec-
ommended that EFA be used as a starting point when
analyzing data. When using CFA, the researcher must
specify both the number of factors that exist for a set of
variables and which factor each variable will load on
before results can be computed. The emphasis is on the
relationships between latent constructs and the measured
variables. In their research, Dong-Jin and Sirgy (1999) use
EFA and CFA when discussing moral philosophies
between Korean and American marketers. Paul et al.
(2006) use EFA and CFA when discussing the different
cultural values that lead to different interpretations of
marketing ethical norms. Their findings show that the US
and India exhibit different cultural values that lead to dif-
ferent interpretations of marketing ethical norms.
Regression analysis and multiple regression analysis
have been used in the articles we reviewed. Regression
analysis is used to describe and evaluate the relationship
between a given variable and one or more explanatory
variables. Multiple regression analysis is the most widely
used statistically procedures for both scholarly and applied
marketing research (Mason and Perreault 1991). Authors
such as Erffmeyer et al. (1999) use regression analysis to
show the effect explanatory variables (Machiavellianism,
idealism, and relativism) had on the given variable (con-
sumer ethics). Marta et al. (2004) used regression analysis
to show the effect that perceived ethical problem, per-
ceived importance of ethics, and age had on ethical
intention. They find that though age is an inconclusive
predictor of ethical intention, ethical problem, and per-
ceived importance of ethics are strongly predictive of
ethical intention.
Structural equation modeling (SEM) examines the
structure of interrelationships expressed in a series of
equations. The emphasis is on the nature and magnitude of
relationships between the latent constructs and the con-
structs are not related to each other. Singhapakdi et al.
(2008) use SEM, EFA, and CFA in their discussion of the
corporate ethical values and its influence on the perceived
ethical problems of managers from Thailand. The authors’
findings show that although they did not find corporate
International Marketing Ethics: A Literature Review and Research Agenda 715
123
ethical values to have a positive influence on a Thai
manager’s perceived ethical problem directly, corporate
ethical values do positively influence a Thai manager’s
perceived importance of ethics.
Discussion
With the advancements in technology, globalization of
markets, globalization of production, and the rise of
emerging markets, international marketing ethics is
becoming increasingly important (Carrigan et al. 2005;
Hoffman et al. 1986). Due to these advancements, we
believe that international marketing ethics needs to be dis-
cussed further. Based on our challenge to find a compre-
hensive definition of international marketing ethics, we drew
from extant research and defined international marketing
ethics as the inquiry in the nature and grounds of moral
judgments, standards, and rules of conduct relating to
international marketing decisions and marketing situations
in international business. Our belief is that this definition
encapsulates the meaning of international marketing ethics.
Our research shows that the Normative Theories (CMD,
Stockholder Theory, Stakeholder Theory and Social Con-
tracts Theory, and Integrative Social Contracts Theory) are
predominant in ethics research. CMD has been used in the
study of ethics when exploring the moral reasoning and
ethical judgments of individuals related to marketing. The
stockholder theory posits that businesses are simply
arrangements by which stockholders advance capital to
managers. This capital is used to realize specified ends
which the stockholders receive and ownership in a partic-
ular venture (Hasnas 1998). The stakeholder theory posits
that business enterprises ought to consider the interests of
all those affected by the firm’s actions (Bishop 2000). It
states that business enterprises have a moral obligation to
consider the interests of all stakeholders regardless of
whether or not this is instrumental to the benefit of the firm
or its owners. Social contracts theory posits that all busi-
nesses are ethically obligated to enhance the welfare of
society by satisfying consumer and employee interests
without injustice (Hasnas 1998). The theory also states that
business exists through cooperation and commitment of
society. Finally, the integrative social contracts theory,
which we stated appears to be an extension of the social
contracts theory, provides practitioners, especially man-
agers, practical guidance to ethical decision making
(Dunfee 2006). The theory is designed to enhance ethical
decision making practices by requiring managers to con-
sider the impact of their decisions on relevant communities
while simultaneously insisting that they step even farther
back and ask whether the decision supports universal moral
principles.
In this article, we also review the primary areas of
research and find that there are a few areas that seem to be
dominant topics. Topics such as ethical problems and
judgments and moral philosophies are heavily discussed as
they relates to international marketing ethics and how
international marketers conduct business across borders.
These marketers may encounter ethical situations in host
countries that may not be similar to the ethical situations
they encounter in their home countries. When this happens,
the international marketer may have to make a judgment
call on the best ethical action to take.
This decision may also vary based on the country they
are in and the differences in culture. In our research, we
find that various countries have different ethical beliefs.
For example, Christie et al. (2003) findings show that
culture has a strong influence on business managers’ atti-
tudes toward both business ethics in general and various
questionable business practices in particular. They also find
that business managers’ attitudes toward business ethics are
related to their personal integrity and that their attitudes
toward particular questionable practices are related to the
external environment and gender, and their personal
integrity. Singh et al. (2007) state that the relationship
between the personal moral philosophies (idealism and
relativism) and ethical judgments is mediated by moral
intensity. McKinney and Moore (2008) find that almost
half of the U.S. business professionals surveyed find that
bribery was acceptable under certain conditions. The
authors also find that the mere existence of written codes of
ethics cannot solve the international bribery problem.
Practical Implications
Our research suggests some important implications for both
academicians and practitioners in the field of international
marketing ethics. Culture is one of the important factors
that affect ethical attitudes and behavior, moral philoso-
phies, ethical judgment, etc. The culture of the manager has
the greatest effect on the perception of ethical problems
and on the perceived increase of ethical problems as firms’
levels of involvement in foreign countries increase (Arm-
strong and Sweeney 1994). Businesses which have been
successful in their home countries face a variety of chal-
lenges when they cross their home country borders. This is
because they face potential clashes of culture which often
revolve around the lack of cultural knowledge and changes
taking place in these societies. International marketing
managers may need training in ethics in order to perform
successfully in cultures that are not similar to their own.
International marketing managers need to be aware of
cultural changes and their impact on ethical decision
making. Knowing these cultural shifts helps to avoid costly
716 R. G. Javalgi, L. T. M. Russell
123
problems and errors. For example, in some countries
business practices such as paying bribes are part of the
fabric of life, and little business can be transacted without
it. Without knowing whom to pay to ‘‘grease the wheels,’’
managers may face frustration and delay. In Western cul-
tures, marketers like to see clear guidelines to aid ethical
decision making. But the guidelines in a foreign coun-
try/culture may not be as clear and transparent as one
would expect. Although different cultural environments
result in different cultural ethical perceptions in interna-
tional marketing, it is necessary to generate internationally
applicable ethical rules and regulations.
There are also important lessons that managers from
home countries learn when doing business in culturally
different countries. For example, China has regulatory and
technical barriers such as licenses and industrial policies
(Gao et al. 2012). In order to do business in China, man-
agers will need access to the social ties that are embedded
in the Chinese culture (i.e., guanxi). Research shows that
guanxi has a positive impact on a foreign firm’s perfor-
mance in China (Gao et al. 2012; Abramson and Ai 1997).
Without knowledge of how guanxi works, managers would
not do well where there is a social network that has to be
accessed.
Our review shows that the cross-cultural research done
has been from a Western perspective. Many of the studies
reviewed in our research use the United States in com-
parison to other countries when studying areas such as
ethical problems, moral philosophies, or culture and ethics.
As stated earlier, this could potentially cause problems or
limitations to the research because it instills a U.S. per-
spective (Cavusgil 1998; Cavusgil et al. 2005; Leonidou
et al. 2010). Research not solely based on a Western per-
spective could potentially help lay a foundation and assist
international marketing managers in their quest to doing
business globally.
Limitations and Future Research
Like many areas of research, our research has its share of
limitations and opportunities for future research. First,
while we reviewed many articles for this literature review,
we are aware that there are articles we may have missed.
We started our process by reviewing journals that discuss
ethics, international business ethics, or international mar-
keting ethics. Our focus was in the social sciences disci-
pline. However, researchers may consider researching
international marketing ethics in other disciplines. There is
a possibility that disciplines such as psychology and
engineering, for example, may discuss international mar-
keting ethics as it relates to those disciplines.
Second, the international marketing mix, which is crit-
ical in creating value and targeting customers, is in general
complicated decision area encountered by international
marketers because it affects the ability to succeed in for-
eign markets, with their different environment such as
political, legal, social, technological, and consumer char-
acteristics (Chee and Harris 1998). Based on our review,
we find that there is limited research on international
marketing ethics as it relates to marketing mix (product,
price, placement, and promotion). This area needs to be
further researched.
Third, most of the articles we reviewed discuss research
based on a Western perspective. This has also been a
concern in general international business research.
Researchers have identified that international business
research tends to focus on a North American perspective
(Cavusgil 1998; Cavusgil et al. 2005; Douglas and Craig
2006; Kwok et al. 2005; Leonidou et al. 2010) when
comparing North American countries to their foreign
counterparts. This limitation presents more research
opportunities to broaden the countries studied (Cavusgil
et al. 2005; Leonidou et al. 2010). More research needs to
be done and more focus needs to be place on non-North
American perspectives. Research focusing on perspectives
from other countries will prove to be beneficial and more
diverse.
Fourth, there is a need for a more empirical and theo-
retical focus in international marketing ethics using the
existing theories. Our review shows that while the nor-
mative theories are widely used in business ethics research,
we find that it is sparse in international marketing ethics
research. One way to accomplish this may be pursuing
more integration between international marketing and
ethics research.
Fifth, the methodological perspective needs to be
further developed in the study of international mar-
keting ethics. Development of causal relationships
among constructs need to be related to international
marketing ethics. For example, though researchers
(e.g., Paul et al. 2006) use EFA and CFA to show how
the impact that different cultural values lead to dif-
ferent interpretations of marketing ethical norms, there
is room for employing advanced statistical techniques
to test the underlying relationships among marketing
ethics constructs.
In sum, when going international the challenges, the
company must handle are new and unfamiliar. Ethics is one
of these challenging areas and can affect international
marketing success. A better understanding of the dynamics
of international marketing ethics can arm an international
marketer with knowledge needed to succeed in a changing
global business environment.
International Marketing Ethics: A Literature Review and Research Agenda 717
123
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Journal of Business Ethics is a copyright of Springer, 2018. All Rights Reserved.
- International Marketing Ethics: A Literature Review and Research Agenda
- Abstract
- Introduction
- Methodological Approach
- Identification and Selection of Appropriate Journals
- Selection of Appropriate Database and Search Strategy
- International Marketing Ethics: Definitions, Concepts, and Theories
- Definitions and Concepts
- Major Theories Used in Ethics Research
- Cognitive Moral Development Theory
- Stockholder Theory
- Stakeholder Theory
- Social Contracts Theory
- Integrative Social Contracts Theory
- Primary Areas of Research Topics
- Ethical problems and Judgments
- Moral Philosophies
- Deontological and Teleological Evaluation
- Culture and Ethics
- Marketing Education
- Corporate Ethical Values
- Countries Studied in International Marketing Ethics
- Statistical Methods
- Discussion
- Practical Implications
- Limitations and Future Research
- References