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A Transcendent Code of Ethics For Marketing Professionals
A Transcendent Code of Ethics For Marketing Professionals
A Transcendent Code of Ethics For Marketing Professionals
www.emeraldinsight.com/1754-243X.htm
A transcendent
A transcendent code of ethics for code of ethics
marketing professionals
Dinah Payne and Milton Pressley
University of New Orleans, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA 55
Abstract
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to develop a single code of ethics that could be used
regardless of the venue or specialty of the marketing professional. The paper first provides a literature
review of research in the areas of ethics pertaining to marketing professionals. Then a review of a wide
variety of codes of business ethics, marketing ethics, model codes, and professional ethics produces the
idea that, while there are some differences in how the codal principles are presented, there are
sufficient similarities in the codes’ principles of professional conduct to merit the consideration of a
single code of marketing ethics – one that can be used regardless of the venue or specialty of the
marketing professional.
Design/methodology/approach – The paper introduces a broad literature review followed by the
development of a transcendent code of ethics for all marketers.
Findings – Using the above as well as: historically and more broadly known theories of ethics, and
currently-used codes of professional marketing ethics, including those from the American Marketing
Association (AMA), the American Association of Advertising Agencies (AAAA), and the Sales and
Marketing Executives International (SMEI), the authors make an attempt to determine the most
prominent, efficacious principles of ethics and to shape a single code of professional conduct for
marketing students, educators and practitioners – regardless of their area of specialty.
Research limitations/implications – The proposed code is subject to debate and will likely not be
the model eventually used. The authors hope that the code proposed will stimulate further research,
discussion and formulation.
Practical implications – A single code of ethics that could be utilized by anyone confronted with an
ethical marketing issue would be useful in easing the difficulties associated with challenging ethical
dilemmas in marketing.
Social implications – Drawing on traditional frames of ethics and combining those principles with
principles found in the marketing ethics literature, the authors generate a single code of ethics that not
only marketers can use, but that others in society can also identify with and feel confidence in – thus
alleviating concerns of mistrust or misunderstanding between those marketing products and services
and the stakeholders in the society in which those products and services are being marketed.
Originality/value – No transcendent code of marketing ethics currently exists. The three most
prominent are unique to their fields – each leaving out portions necessary to be transcendent. Thus,
the proposed code is original and has the practical social implication values noted above.
Keywords Ethics, Marketing, Business ethics, Codes of ethics, Marketing ethics, Model codes,
Professional ethics
Paper type Conceptual paper
Introduction
This article is an attempt to provide a brief review of the most prominent and salient
research in the areas of business ethics, codes of ethics, marketing ethics, model codes, International Journal of Law and
and professional ethics, with a view to development of a single code of ethics that could Management
Vol. 55 No. 1, 2013
be used regardless of the venue or specialty of the marketing professional. This code of pp. 55-73
ethics will be derived from the thoughts/principles found in the literature review, q Emerald Group Publishing Limited
1754-243X
including historically and more broadly known and valued theories of ethics. DOI 10.1108/17542431311303822
IJLMA Further, we will review and include salient portions of the codes of three marketing
55,1 professionals’ organizations: the American Marketing Association (AMA), the
American Association of Advertising Agencies (AAAA), and the Sales and
Marketing Executives International (SMEI). The development of a single code of
ethics that could be utilized by anyone confronted with an ethical marketing issue would
be useful, not only in terms of sparking more debate and discussion on ethical marketing
56 standards, but, also, perhaps in easing the difficulties associated with challenging
ethical dilemmas in marketing.
Working towards the development of a single code of ethics, the authors also utilize
and/or incorporate ideas derived from examinations of the needs for marketing ethics
standards and the profession of marketing itself regarding the dilemmas marketers
confront and the stakeholders who are affected by marketing decisions. Functions of
professional codes of ethics are also examined to assure that, whatever the codal
provisions are, they will serve the marketers who use them well. Finally, drawing on
traditional frames of ethics and combining those principles with principles found in the
marketing ethics literature, the authors were able to generate a single code of ethics
that not only marketers can use, but that others in society can also identify with and
feel confidence in – thus alleviating concerns of mistrust or misunderstanding between
those marketing products and services and the stakeholders in the society in which
those products and services are being marketed.
Thus, the current proposal is to make use of the vast array of materials associated with
marketing ethics reviewed here, to generate a model code of ethics for students of
marketing ethics, marketing educational professionals and those actively engaged in
the business of marketing products or services to consumers. To do so, several
predicate questions must be asked and answered. Among these questions are: what is
the need for marketing standards of ethics; who is affected by marketing decisions
with ethical overtones; is the field of marketing a profession, which should properly
have a professional code of ethics? Further, upon what constructs would a single code
IJLMA of marketing be based? How similar would a code founded on basic concepts of ethics
55,1 be compared to basic codes of business conduct regardless of field of study/practice?
The
Community
MARKETING
Suppliers PROFESSIONALS Society At
Large
The
Marketing
Current and
Profession
Future
Financial
The Backers of
Environment Projects
Professional
Competitors Governmental
Figure 1. Associations
Regulatory
Marketing professionals’ Agencies
stakeholders
Source: Adapted from Payne and Landry (2005)
communicate the firm’s decisions to assure stakeholders that ethics have been
considered during the decision making process. Frankel (1989) provided
a comprehensive list of eight functions of codes of ethics. Codes provide group
guidance in ambiguous circumstances, as well as a being a basis of understanding
for public expectation and evaluation. The sense of commonality among members of
the organization or profession can be established or strengthened by a code. The
establishment and utilization of a code can enhance the organization’s or profession’s
reputation in the community. Codes can also preserve well-established professional
practices. When there is a question as to the morality of an action, the code can help in
three ways: it can prevent unethical behavior by the potential imposition of sanctions
for wrongdoing, it can provide a defense mechanism for embattled individuals
confronted with pressure to do the wrong thing and it can aid in the adjudication of
disputes arising out of arguably unethical behavior.
In the marketing specific literature, many authors have cited reasons for developing
codes of ethics, which reasons also serve to reveal the functions of codes of ethics.
Laczniak and Murphy (1991) indicated that codes help vitalize the firm and are perceived
to be the most effective way to encourage ethical corporate behavior. O’Boyle and
Dawson (1992) stated that codes promote the common good, for the professional, as well
as for society. Maes et al. (1998) found that codes are designed to influence employee
behavior and can be used to manage change more effectively. Codes also require a higher
standard of professional conduct than the law. Chonko and Hunt’s (2000) literature
review found that codes are used to influence behavior by raising the consciousness of A transcendent
the ethical element in the decision-making process. Codes are used to guide behavior and code of ethics
add validation to the moral decisions made. Brinkman (2002) suggested that codes aid in
conflict handling and addressing acceptable or unacceptable behavior. Valentine and
Barnett (2002) suggested that codes are utilized by organizations to curry community
recognition, to conform to the law, to internalize firm values and to prevent unacceptable
behavior of its members. Dobson (2003) suggested that codes provide guidelines for 63
behavior. Vitell et al. (2003, p. 79) also provided a good reason to develop codes of
professional conduct: “organizations can positively influence the moral thinking of their
employees by providing a clear set of ethical values and policies, and enforcing these
policies.” A review of the general business ethics code functions with the functions of
marketing codes of ethics reveals that the reasons to develop codes and codes’ functions
are similar enough between the two to promote the idea that one single code of ethics
should work regardless of the field of business at issue.
It is important to understand that an infinite amount of research by innumerable
authors will not force the development or adherence to a code of ethics. Akaah and
Riordan (1989), with many others, have suggested that codes will only be as effective
as they are enforced. Akaah and Riordan (1989, p. 119) found that “if these codes are to
enhance ethical standards, they must not only exist, but also be enforced [. . .]”
Although we have not chosen this article as a forum for debate about that issue,
it would be foolish to ignore it as a real challenge to the development, implementation
and daily use of a code of ethics. Our approach is that “if you build it, they will come”:
only if a firm or profession develops a code, can anyone make use of it. If the code is not
developed or implemented by a firm or a profession, it cannot be used, even by good
faith decision makers desirous of sound moral guidance. Again, the point is that codes
of ethics must be workable codes that any well educated marketer, or even a poorly
educated one, should be able to pick up and reference when assaulted by a marketing
dilemma. The code must exist, it must be enforced and it must be usable by the average
seeker of aid for an ethical marketing question.
Beliefs
Values
Behaviors
Figure 2.
Spiral of developing Attitudes
culture
Source: Payne (2003)
In the field of marketing ethics, a number of authors have defined ethics. Robin and A transcendent
Reidenbach (1987, p. 45) define business ethics as “requir(ing) that the organization or code of ethics
individual behave in accordance with the carefully thought-out rules of moral
philosophy.” Writing about marketing professionals’ ethics, Lund (2000), Akaah and
Riordan (1989), and Akaah (1992), all citing Taylor (1975), define ethics in terms of the
nature and grounds of morality involving judgments, standards, and rules of conduct.
Marketing ethics is derived from the marketing professionals’ relationship with the 65
parties in the exchange process, including a variety of stakeholders. Brinkman (2002)
provided both a broader definition of ethics, as well as a more narrowly focused
definition of marketing ethics. He suggests that marketing ethics is an extension of the
basic definition of ethics. His categorization of marketing ethics supports the proposal
that general business ethics are a suitable base for constructing a single marketing
ethics code that everyone in the fields of marketing could utilize:
Marketing ethics examines systematically marketing and marketing morality, related to
4P-issues such as unsafe products, deceptive pricing, deceptive advertising or bribery,
discrimination in distribution [. . .] If business ethics as an academic field is about moral
criticism and self-criticism of business and business education, this would include criticism
and self-criticism of marketing as well, as its most out-going and aggressive part, with its
specific tools and tricks and its specific acceptable and unacceptable choices and
consequences (p. 159).
Stoll (2002), citing Holley (1987), suggested that marketing ethics includes at least three
major tenets. The buyer and seller must be adequately informed as to the transaction.
Neither the buyer nor the seller should experience any force in engaging in the
transaction and they must both be capable of engaging in rational thought. Precepts of
marketing ethics definition are characterized by knowing, willing and rational behavior,
characteristics to be seen in other very basic and well-known ethics standards
(Kant, 1964). Again, the greater part of the literature here addresses marketing
professionals, rather than a transcendent approach to all business professionals,
regardless of profession.
Author
Raiborn and Aristotelian virtues
Concepts Kant (1969) Payne (1990) (Aristotle, 1984)
make a reasonable profit are met while meeting the needs of the stakeholders. Table I is
a summary of the frameworks presented here; the far left column represents a
synthesis of the concepts of the frameworks that can then be compared with marketing
codes of ethics. Such a comparison will provide the basis for our single code of
marketing ethics.
Future research
The code in Table III will likely not be the model eventually used. However, the inability
of the marketing decision maker to understand that there may be ethical components to a
decision being made must be overcome. Moreover, the complexity involved in looking
through more than one code may prevent ethical decisions – and obviously undesirable
situation. The authors believe that a single code would be useful to all involved in
making decisions in any aspect of marketing and hope that the code in Table III will
stimulate further research, discussion and formulation.
IJLMA
Concepts derived from
55,1 synthesized frameworks and Proposed uniform professional code of business ethics for marketing
consolidated as to principle professionals
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Corresponding author
Milton Pressley can be contacted at: mpressle@uno.edu