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Consumer Ethics: Determinants of Ethical Beliefs of African Americans

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Abstract

This study explores the ethical ideol-ogies and ethical beliefs of African American consumers using the Forsyth ethical position questionnaire (EPQ) and the Muncy-Vitell consumer ethics questionnaire (MVQ). The two dimensions of the EPQ (i.e., idealism and relativism) were the independent constructs and the four dimensions of the MVQ (i.e., illegal, active, passive and no harm) were the dependent variables. In addition, this paper explores the consumer ethics of African Americans across four demographic factors (i.e., age, education, gender, and marital status). A sample of 315 African American consumers was used to explore these relationships. Results confirmed that consumers who score high on the idealism scale are more likely to reject questionable consumer activities, but there was no relationship between relativism and consumers' rejection of questionable activities. Older, more educated and married consumers rejected questionable activities more than younger, less educated and single consumers. Gender did not have any significant relationship to consumers' ethical orientation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Management and Marketing, Jackson State University, P.O. Box 563, Jackson, MS, 39205, U.S.A.

    Ziad Swaidan

  2. School of Business Administration University of Mississippi, University, MS, 38677, U.S.A.

    Scott J. Vitell

  3. Department of Marketing, University of Northern Iowa, Cedar Falls, IA, 50614-0126, U.S.A.

    Mohammed Y. A. Rawwas

Authors
  1. Ziad Swaidan
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  2. Scott J. Vitell
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  3. Mohammed Y. A. Rawwas
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Swaidan, Z., Vitell, S.J. & Rawwas, M.Y.A. Consumer Ethics: Determinants of Ethical Beliefs of African Americans. Journal of Business Ethics 46, 175–186 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1025068902771

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