Ethics: concepts, principles, and applications

Ethics and Marketing

Ethics in Marketing Research

Fritzsche, D. (1987). "Marketing/business ethics: A review of empirical research." Business & Professional Ethics Journal, 6, 65-79.

The author analyzes marketing and business research for the broad subjects of such research, specifically in the area of ethics. The author finds that corporate policies on the matter do have an impact on the way individual employees behave and on the ethical constraints they place on themselves, while the lack of a stated and clear policy may leave the staff with too much leeway. This also suggests that ethics are not otherwise sufficiently part of their training so that they need the written policy as a guide.

Cui, G. & Choudhury, P. (2003). Consumer Interests and the Ethical Implications of Marketing: A Contingency Framework. Journal of Consumer Affairs, Volume 37, Issue 2, 364.

The authors note how marketers have been increasing their efforts to target diverse groups of consumers, and they then note how this calls for a closer study of the ethical implications of market segmentation and market differentiation. The authors use contingency theory to propose an integrated framework for analyzing the complexities of the market exchange.

Davis, J.L. (1994). Ethics in Advertising Decisionmaking: Implications for Reducing the Incidence of Deceptive Advertising. Journal of Consumer Affairs, Volume 28, Issue 2, 380.

The author considers ethics as manifested in advertising and the need for ethical precepts to address false advertising, advertising puffery, misleading advertising, and similar problems.

Ethics in Targeting/Positioning

Davis, J.L. (2002). Marketing to Children Online: A Manager's Guide to the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act. SAM Advanced Management Journal, Volume 67, Issue 4, 11.

The ethics of marketing on the Internet has been given a good deal of attention, and this article covers one of the primary issues, the ethics of targeting children. A business is more successful when it establishes a relationship with the consumer, and this is true when the consumer is a child as well. Targeting children raises particular ethical issues depending on the type of product involved.

Botan, C. (1997). Ethics in Strategic Communication Campaigns: The Case for a New Approach to Public Relations. The Journal of Business Communication, Volume 34, Issue 2, 188.

The author discusses public relations campaigns and finds ethical issues according to the method by which the campaign targets an audience and communicates to reach that specific audience, specifically whether the communication is a monologue or a dialogue and so whether the message is an authoritarian statement or the development of a relationship.

Hafstad, a. (1997). Activating Interpersonal Influence Through Provocative Appeals: Evaluation of a Mass Media-Based Antismoking Campaign Targeting Adolescents. Health Communication, Volume 9, Issue 3, 253-272.

The author considers an antismoking campaign directed at adolescents and raises the question of whether any campaign that leads a negative emotional reactions can be considered ethical. Such a reaction may depend on who the target may be and on the nature of the message delivered.

Ethics in Promotion

Harvey, H.D. & Fleming, P. (2003). The Readability and Audience Acceptance of Printed Health Promotion Materials Used by Environmental Health Departments. Journal of Environmental Health, Volume 65, Issue 6, 22.

The authors consider the promotion of information about environmental health, the different means by which communication can be effected, and the ethical issues that might be raised and how such issues should be decided by an ethical committee or otherwise.

Fox, R.F. (2001, November). Warning Advertising May Be Hazardous to Your Health: Ads Pose a Threat to Physical, Emotional, Social, and Cultural Well-Being. USA Today, Volume 130, Issue 2678, 62.

The author discusses different types of advertising and promotion and finds ethical problems in the way many are handled, especially with reference to advertising and promoting goods and services to children. He cites the use of focus groups for toy companies and the ethical implications of improving advertising to kids.

Cohn, E. (2000, January 31). Marketwatch: Consuming Kids. The American Prospect, Volume 11, Issue 6, 13.

The author questions the promotion of certain products to children and finds marketers hiring psychologists to shape the message so as to reach children. Other psychologists have denounced such actions and have called for an emendation of the ethics code to govern this sort of promotion in the future.

Ethics in Pricing

Cranberg, G. (1997, March-April). Trimming the Fringe: How Newspapers Shun Low-Income Readers. Columbia Journalism Review, Volume 35, Issue 6, 52.

The author considers ethics and pricing in terms of the newspaper industry and ways in which some newspapers have been ignoring poorer readers and are marketing for upper-scale readers, using such approaches as increasing pricing. This is called cutting fringe circulation, and it raises ethical questions about how news organizations are treating the public.

Buell, J. (1999, September). Prescription Blackmail.

The Humanist. Volume 59, Issue 5, 42.

The ethics of pricing for pharmaceutical products is discussed by the author. Who note show pricing strategies deny millions of people the medications they need. He also finds that the industry is a form of legalized monopoly and often fails to fulfill its ethical responsibilities in the pricing of its products even as it benefits from its special status in society.

Tress, M. (2000, September). A Changing of the Guard?. Curriculum Administrator, Volume 36, Issue 8, 56.

The author considers the issue of pricing in education and finds that large segments of the public use the Internet today and so believe they are in an environment where everything is free. This creates a mixed message for the students and so raises a new ethical concern for the current world. Ethical issues can be raised when pricing is too low as well as when it is too high.