Abstract
Business and 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 ethical beliefs and ideologies. In addition, no study has examined the ethical beliefs of Austrian consumers even though Austria maintains a unique status of political neutrality, nonalignment, stability, economic prosperity and geographical proximity to the East- and West-European countries. This research investigates the relationship between Machiavellianism, ethical ideology and ethical beliefs of Austrian consumers. The results indicate that Austrian consumers are mostly “situationists” who, while rejecting moral rules, judge the ethics of a behavior by the consequences and outcomes of the situation.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Al-Khatib, J., S. J. Vitell and M. Y. A. Rawwas: 1994, ‘Consumer Ethics: A Cross-Cultural Investigation’,Advances in International Marketing 8(2), Forthcoming.
Bartels, R.: 1967, ‘A Model for Ethics in Marketing’,Journal of Marketing (Jan.), 20–26.
Christie, R. and F. L. Geis: 1970,Studies in Machiavellianism (Academic Press, New York).
Chonko, L.: 1982, ‘Are Purchasing Agents Machiavellian?’,Journal of Business Research 13, 339–359.
Davis, R. M.: 1979, ‘Comparison of Consumer Acceptance of Rights and Responsibilities’, in N. M. Ackerman (ed.),Ethics and the Consumer Interest, pp. 68–70.
DePaulo, P. J.: 1986, ‘Ethical Perceptions of Deceptive Bargaining Tactics Used by Salespersons and Customers: A Double Standard’, in Joel G. Sagert (ed.),Proceedings of the Division of Consumer Psychology (American Psychological Association, Washington, D. C.).
Ferrell, O. C. and L. Gresham: 1985, ‘A Contingency Framework for Understanding Ethical Decision Making in Marketing’,Journal of Marketing (Summer), 87–96.
Ferrell, O. C., L. Gresham and J. Fraedrich: 1989, ‘A Synthesis of Ethical Decision Models for Marketing’,Journal of Marcromarketing 9 (Fall), 55–64.
Forsyth, D. R.: 1980, ‘A Taxonomy of Ethical Ideologies’,Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 39, 175–184.
Forsyth, D. R. and W. R. Pope: 1984, ‘Ethical Ideology and Judgments of Social Psychology Research: Multidimensional Analysis’,Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 46, 1365–1375.
Green, P. E.: 1978,Analysis Multivariate Data (The Dryden Press, Hinsadale, Il).
Hegarty, W. H. and H. P. Sims, Jr.: 1978, ‘Some Determinants of Unethical Decision Behavior: An Experiment’,Journal of Applied Psychology 63 (Aug.), 451–457.
Hunt, S. D. and L. Chonko: 1984, ‘Marketing and Machiavellianism’,Journal of Marketing (Summer), 30–42.
Hunt, S. D. and S. J. Vitell: 1986, ‘A General Theory of Marketing Ethics’,Journal of Macromarketing (Spring), 5–16.
Kallis, M. J., K. A. Krentier and D. J. Vanier: 1986, ‘The Value of User Image in Quelling Aberrant Consumer Behavior’,Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science 14 (Spring), 29–35.
Moschis, G. P. and J. Powell: 1986, ‘The Juvenile Shoplifter’,The Marketing Mix 10(1), 1.
Muncy, J. A. and S. J. Vitell: 1992, ‘Consumer Ethics: An Investigation of the Ethical Beliefs of the Final Consumer’,Journal of Business Research 24(4), 297–311.
Muncy, J. A. and S. J. Vitell: 1989, ‘Consumer Ethics: An Empirical Investigation of the Ethical Beliefs of the Final Consumer’, working paper.
Murphy, P. and G. R. Laczniak: 1981, ‘Marketing Ethics: A Review with Implications for Managers, Educators and Researchers’,Review of Marketing, 251–266.
Murphy, P. and M. D. Pridgen: 1987, ‘Ethical and Legal Issues in Marketing’, paper presented at American Marketing Association's Marketing Ethics Workshop, University of Southern Mississippi.
Stamfl, R. W.: 1979, ‘Multi-Disciplinary Foundations for a Consumer Code of Ethics’, in N. M. Ackerman (ed.),Ethics and the Consumer Interest, pp. 12–20.
Schubert, J. G.: 1979, ‘Consumer Abuse: Some Recommendations for Change’, in N. M. Ackerman (ed.),Ethics and the Consumer Interest, pp. 146–149.
Singhapakdi, A. and S. J. Vitell: 1990, ‘Marketing Ethics: Factors Influencing Perceptions of Ethical Problems and Alternatives’,Journal of Macromarketing 10, 4–18.
Vitell, S. J., J. R. Lumpkin and M. Y. A. Rawwas: 1991, ‘Consumer Ethics: An Investigation of the Ethical Beliefs of Elderly Consumers’,Journal of Business Ethics 10, 365–375.
Wilkes, R. E.: 1978, ‘Fraudulent Behavior by Consumers’,Journal of Marketing (Oct.), 67–75.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
Mohammed Y.A. Rawwas is an Assistant Professor of Marketing at the University of Northern Iowa. His research has appeared in the Journal of Business Ethics, Marketing Educational Review, Advances in International Marketing, European Journal of Marketing, Journal of Hospital Marketing, Health Marketing Quarterly, Medical Marketing and Media,among other journals and proceedings.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Rawwas, M.Y.A. Consumer ethics: An empirical investigation of the ethical beliefs of Austrian consumers. J Bus Ethics 15, 1009–1019 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00705579
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00705579