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An Introduction of Epistemology to Business Ethics: A Study of Marketing Middle-Managers

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Abstract

A vast majority of marketing theory and research has focused on relativism and idealism in order to understand ethical behavior. However, making ethical assessments that in turn influence behavior is much more complicated than it appears. One of the most important developments in contemporary philosophy has been the renewed interest in epistemic virtue. Epistemologists contend that belief is an ethical process that is susceptible to the intellectual virtue or vice of one’s own life and personal experiences. Open-mindedness, curiosity, careful thinking, creativity, and intellectual courage are the foundations of epistemic virtues. Closed-mindedness, intellectual overconfidence, unimaginativeness, intellectual conformity, and wishful thinking are among epistemic vices. The purpose of this investigation is to introduce epistemology to marketing ethics by linking it to personal moral philosophies (idealism and relativism) and optimism to explain various ethically challenging organizational behaviors. The items of epistemology were developed and pretested by the lead author of this study. Structural equations (LISREL) analyses found that epistemic virtues and vices are better predictors of ethical behavior than were personal moral philosophies (idealism and relativism), and their influence on mild and severe levels of unethical behaviors was enhanced by the moderator variable, optimism. Implications are designed to develop suggestions for improving ethical behavior in the workplace.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Marketing, University of Northern Iowa, Cedar Falls, IA, 50614-0126, USA

    Mohammed Y. A. Rawwas

  2. University of the West Indies/Arthur Lok Jack Graduate School of Business, St. Augustine, Trinidad, West Indies

    Surendra Arjoon

  3. American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon

    Yusuf Sidani

Authors
  1. Mohammed Y. A. Rawwas
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  2. Surendra Arjoon
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  3. Yusuf Sidani
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Correspondence to Mohammed Y. A. Rawwas.

Appendix

Appendix

Reliabilism is defined as “the view that beliefs are justified just when they are produced by reliable belief—forming cognitive process—i.e., processes which would produce true beliefs most of the time.”1

Correspondence theory is defined as “an agreement between an idea and its object is necessary and sufficient for the truth of the idea.”2

Coherent theory is defined as “the criterion of truth, as of reality, lies in coherence within the self-inclusive whole.”2

Evidentialism “is a theory that explains what’s required for an individual to have a justified belief about something related to a particular proposition, situation, or decision.”3

The foundationalist theory is defined as a “foundation of sense-based beliefs whose existence, or at least the epistemological significance of which, does not depend upon a belief state.”4

1. Beebe, James; Bohman, James F. (2002), “Reliabilism, truth and cognitive science,” Saint Louis University, Diss: 2002. 3051774.

2. Della Rocca, Michael (1996), “Representation and the Mind–Body Problem in Spinoza.” New York: Oxford University Press, 110.

3. Gallagher-Ford, Lynn. (2011), “Evidentialism: A borrowed approach to EBP Nursing Management,” 42. 7(Jul): 10.

4. Dickinson, Travis; Fumerton, Richard A.; Hasan, Ali; Cunning, David; Skiff, Frederick; et al. (2011), “A defense of internalist foundations: Direct awareness of fit as the solution to the Sellarsian dilemma,” The University of Iowa, Diss: 2011. 3473162.

Note: The questionnaire of this study is available upon request.

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Rawwas, M.Y.A., Arjoon, S. & Sidani, Y. An Introduction of Epistemology to Business Ethics: A Study of Marketing Middle-Managers. J Bus Ethics 117, 525–539 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-012-1537-6

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