A cross-cultural examination of the general theory of marketing ethics: does it apply to the next generation of managers?

This research confirms the empirical test of Hunt and Vitell’s (1986) General Theory of Marketing Ethics by Mayo and Marks (1990) across four cultures. Using path analysis, the core relationships of the general theory of marketing ethics, as originally tested by Mayo and Marks (1990) were successfully replicated using over 1500 students from seven universities in the US, Canada, Netherlands, and Australia. “Tomorrow’s managers” appear to use a more deontological approach to making ethical judgments about personal selling than the Mayo and Mark’s sample of marketing research managers. However, the major premise of the theory that both deontological and teleological philosophies jointly influence ethical judgments was confirmed across all four countries. The original research was extended by confirming the positive relationship between the probability of consequences and the desirability of consequences. The use of social values as deontological norms also appears promising. Although the model was originally intended to explain management ethical decision-making, our study has shown that it may be generalizable to how individuals make ethical decisions in life.