Empirical Study of Consumer Ethics: A Comparative Study of Two Firms of Faisalabad, Pakistan

Cheema, Khaliq Ur Rehman and Imtiaz, Nasir and Shafiq, Yasir (2013): Empirical Study of Consumer Ethics: A Comparative Study of Two Firms of Faisalabad, Pakistan. Published in: Journal of Business and Management Sciences , Vol. 3, No. 1 (June 2013): pp. 32-35.

Abstract

Ethics are very important factor in today business. We have conducted this study to identify consumer ethics and their buying behavior in Particular two Organizations of Faisalabad, to study the consumer ethics we used four different dimensions. The purpose of this paper to find the situation in which consumer behaves unethically in Pakistan. And the result compares with previous consumer ethics researches. It is an exploratory research for the purpose of seeing the consumer ethics. The study shows that different consumers behave differently in term of ethical point of view. Our study shows that customers similar in terms of Machiavellian ism they display. Limitation in this paper is that the study was conducted only in Faisalabad. Another problem is that time; willingness and mood of the customers also affect the responses. This is an exploratory research and the results are not claimed to be generalized. So the further research should be made on social and political problems which affect the ethical behaviours and try to generalize the results.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: English
• Keywords: Ethics, unethical practices, Machiavellianism, willingness, and Pakistan
• Subjects: M - Business Administration and Business Economics ; Marketing ; Accounting ; Personnel Economics > M3 - Marketing and Advertising > M31 - Marketing

References

Ferrell, O.C. and Gresham, L.(1985), “A contingency framework for understanding ethical decision making in marketing”, Journal of Marketing, Summer, pp. 87-96.

2. Baumhart, R. (1961), “How ethical are businessmen?”, Harvard Business Review, Vol. 38, July- August, pp. 6-31.

3. Brenner, S.N. and Molander, E.A.(1977), “Is the ethics of business executives changing?”, Harvard Business Review, Vol. 55, January-February, pp. 57-71.

4. Akaah, I.P. (1990), “Attitudes of marketing professionals toward ethics in marketing research: a cross-national comparison”, Journal of Business Ethics, Vol. 9, pp. 45-53.

5. Becker, H. and Fritzsche, D.J.(1987), “A comparison of the ethical behavior of American, French and German managers”, Columbia Journal of World Business, Winter, pp. 87-95.

6. Cunningham, W. and Green, R.(1984), “From the editors”, Journal of Marketing, Vol. 48, Winter,

7. Kallis, M.J., Krentier, K.A. and Vanier, D.J.(1986), “The value of user image in quelling aberrant consumer behavior”, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Vol. 14, Spring, pp. 29-35.

8. Moschis, G.P. and Powell, J. (1986), “The juvenile shoplifter”, The Marketing Mix, Vol. 10 No.1, Winter-Spring, p. 14-27. 9. Antil, J.H. (1984), “Socially responsible consumers: profile and implications for public policy”, Journal of Macromarketing, Vol. 4, Fall, pp. 18-39.

10. Haldeman, V.A., Peters, J.M. and Trippel, P.A.(1987), “Measuring a consumer energy conservation ethic: an analysis of components”, Journal of Consumer Affairs, Vol. 21 No. 1, pp. 70-85.

11. Stamfl, R.W. (1979), “Multi-disciplinary foundations for a consumer code of ethics”, in Ackerman, N.M. (Ed.), Ethics and the Consumer Interest, pp. 12-20.

12. Schubert, J.G. (1979), “Consumer abuse: some recommendations for change”, in Ackerman, N.M. (Ed.), Ethics and the Consumer Interest, pp. 146-159.

13. Grove, S.J., Vitell, S.J. and Strutton, D.(1989), “Non-normative consumer behavior and the techniques of neutralization”, in Bagozzi, R. and Peter, J.P. (Eds), Proceedings of the 1989 AMA Winter Educators Conference, American Marketing Association, Chicago, IL, pp. 131-145.

14. Davis, R.M. (1979), “Comparison of consumer acceptance of rights and responsibilities”, in Ackerman, N.M. (Ed.), Ethics and the Consumer Interest, pp. 68-70.

15. De Paulo, P.J. (1986), “Ethical perceptions of deceptive bargaining tactics used by salespersons and customers: a double standard”, in Sagert, J.G.(Ed.), Proceedings of the Division of Consumer Psychology, American Psychological Association, Washington, DC.

16. Wilkes, R.E. (1978), “Fraudulent behavior by consumers,” Journal of Marketing, October, pp. 67-75.

17. Vitell, S.J., Lumpkin, J.R. and Rawwas, M.Y.A.(1991), “Consumer ethics: an investigation of the ethical beliefs of elderly consumers”, Journal of Business Ethics, May, pp. 365-75.