Conceptions and Misconceptions of Virtue in Marketing

Abstract

Marketing activities present some of the most discussed and challenging ethical issues in the contemporary world of business. In recent years, virtue theory approaches to marketing ethics have offered new insight into, and guidance in, dealing with these issues. In this chapter, we provide an overview of the contributions that virtue ethics offers to marketing ethics. In doing so, we explain some of the main considerations involved in discussions of marketing ethics, as well as some of the advantages that virtue-based approaches offer in addressing these concerns. The focus on character, integrity, and community in virtue ethics offers a more robust, normative, and practical foundation for ethics in marketing than either deontological or consequential theories alone can provide. Having examined the general application of virtue theory to marketing ethics, we then provide an overview of some of the most commonly discussed ethical issues in marketing, as well as some of emerging importance. The other chapters in this section will deal with each of the issues noted more fully and illustrate how a virtue-based ethical theory can be employed in responding to them.