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Marketing and Ethics: What Islamic Ethics Have Contributed and the Challenges Ahead

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Abstract

This article examines the role of Islamic ethics in the marketing field. It presents Islamic contributions to the field by referencing original sources and concepts that are often not easily available to researchers and practitioners alike. In foundational texts, Islamic ethics have their own marketing practice prescriptions, practices that are driven by a discipline which shuns any dichotomy between organizational and societal interests. The paper underscores the role of marketers in improving the well-being of individuals and the community and presents a framework for analyzing the link between Islamic ethics and societal welfare vis-a-vis marketing. Several marketing issues are identified and the contributions of Islamic teachings are presented. This paper, too, identifies emerging ethical dilemmas and the necessity to tackle them in a way that strengthens the role of marketing in societal affairs and ensures morally driven conduct.

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Acknowledgments

The authors extend their appreciation to the Deanship of Scientific Research at King Saud University for funding the work through the Research Group Project No. RGP-VPP-011. An earlier version of this paper was delivered as a Keynote Speech at the First Global Islamic Marketing Conference, Dubai, March 2022, 2011.

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  1. School of International Management, Eberly College of Business and IT, Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Indiana, PA, 15705, USA

    Abbas J. Ali

  2. Department of Marketing, College of Business Administration, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

    Abdulrahman Al-Aali

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  1. Abbas J. Ali
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  2. Abdulrahman Al-Aali
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Correspondence to Abbas J. Ali.

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Ali, A.J., Al-Aali, A. Marketing and Ethics: What Islamic Ethics Have Contributed and the Challenges Ahead. J Bus Ethics 129, 833–845 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-014-2131-x

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