Character and Virtue Ethics in International Marketing: An Agenda for Managers, Researchers and Educators

This article examines the applicability of character and virtue ethics to international marketing. The historical background of this field, dimensions of virtue ethics and its relationship to other ethical theories are explained. Five core virtues – integrity, fairness, trust, respect and empathy – are suggested as especially relevant for marketing in a multicultural and multinational context. Implications are drawn for marketing scholars, practitioners and educators.

[1]  L. Kohlberg.  Stage and sequence: The cognitive-developmental approach to socialization , 1969 .

[2]  David J. Fritzsche,et al.  Business Ethics: A Global and Managerial Perspective , 1996 .

[3]  Adrian Cadbury.  2 – Ethical Managers Make Their Own Rules1 , 1994 .

[4]  J. Hillman.  The Soul's Code: In Search of Character and Calling , 1996 .

[5]  W. Bennett.  The Moral Compass: Stories for a Life's Journey , 1995 .

[6]  Robert C. Solomon,et al.  Ethics and Excellence: Cooperation and Integrity in Business , 1992 .

[7]  D. George,et al.  Competing with integrity in international business , 1993 .

[8]  G. Zaltman,et al.  Relationships between Providers and Users of Market Research: The Dynamics of Trust within and between Organizations , 1992 .

[9]  S. Cavanagh.  American Business Values: With International Perspectives , 1997 .

[10]  Will Virtue Ethics Improve Ethical Conduct in Multicultural Settings and Interactions? , 1996 .

[11]  T. Horton.  What Works for Me: 16 Ceos Talk About Their Careers and Commitments , 1989 .

[12]  C. Gilligan.  In a Different Voice: Psychological Theory and Women''s , 1982 .

[13]  P. Foot.  The Varieties of Goodness. , 1965 .

[14]  Joseph P. Cannon,et al.  An Examination of the Nature of Trust in Buyer–Seller Relationships: , 1997 .

[15]  Eighty exemplary ethics statements , 1998 .

[16]  Donald P. Robin,et al.  Social Responsibility, Ethics, and Marketing Strategy: Closing the Gap between Concept and Application , 1987 .

[17]  W. Frederick.  Competing with Integrity , 1995 .

[18]  Jacques Nantel,et al.  Marketing ethics: is there more to it than the utilitarian approach? , 1996 .

[19]  J. Collier.  The Virtuous Organization , 1995 .

[20]  S. Hunt,et al.  The Commitment-Trust Theory of Relationship Marketing , 1994 .

[21]  W. H. Shaw.  Business ethics today: A survey , 1996 .

[22]  Patrick E. Murphy,et al.  Ethical and Legal Foundations of Relational Marketing Exchanges , 1993 .

[23]  Gene R. Laczniak,et al.  Ethical Marketing Decisions: The Higher Road , 1992 .

[24]  Chiaki Nakano.  A Survey Study of Japanese Managers' Views of Business Ethics , 1997 .

[25]  Shankar Ganesan.  Determinants of Long-Term Orientation in Buyer-Seller Relationships , 1994 .

[26]  J. Liedtka.  Feminist Morality and Competitive Reality: A Role for an Ethic of Care? , 1996, Business Ethics Quarterly.

[27]  P. Murphy.  European Managers’Views on Corporate Ethics , 1994 .

[28]  Oliver F. Williams,et al.  The Ethics of Virtue: A Moral Theory for Marketing , 1990 .

[29]  Edwin M. Hartman.  The Role of Character in Business Ethics , 1998, Business Ethics Quarterly.

[30]  N. M. Meara,et al.  Principles and Virtues , 1996 .

[31]  L. Amine.  The need for moral champions in global marketing , 1996 .

[32]  K. Cottrill.  GLOBAL CODES OF CONDUCT , 1996 .

[33]  Patrick E. Murphy,et al.  Corporate ethics statements: Current status and future prospects , 1995 .

[34]  William J. Bennett,et al.  The Book of Virtues: A Treasury of Great Moral Stories , 1993 .

[35]  T. Beauchamp,et al.  Principles of biomedical ethics , 1991 .

[36]  F. Fukuyama.  Trust: The Social Virtues and the Creation of Prosperity Penguin London , 1995 .

[37]  L. Paine.  Managing for Organizational Integrity. , 1994 .

[38]  S. Mintz.  Aristotelian virtue and business ethics education , 1996 .

[39]  G. Zaltman,et al.  Factors affecting trust in market research relationships. , 1993 .

[40]  M. Novak.  Business as a Calling: Work and the Examined Life , 1997 .

[41]  A. Macintyre,et al.  Whose Justice? Which Rationality? , 1989, The New Social Theory Reader.

[42]  P. Murphy,et al.  Managerial Ethical Leadership: Examples do Matter , 1995, Business Ethics Quarterly.

[43]  L. Paine.  Cases In Leadership, Ethics and Organizational Integrity: A Strategic Perspective , 1996 .

[44]  M. Slote.  The Justice of Caring , 1998, Social Philosophy and Policy.

[45]  D. Koehn.  A Role for Virtue Ethics in the Analysis of Business Practice , 1995, Business Ethics Quarterly.

[46]  N. Sherman.  Concrete Kantian Respect , 1998, Social Philosophy and Policy.

[47]  W. Spohn.  Notes on Moral Theology: 1991: The Return of Virtue Ethics , 1992 .