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Executive Summary
With the recent revelations about Arthur Anderson, Enron, and WorldCom, the role of ethical issues in business has become more important than ever. Such issues are even more salient in the context of an interdependent global economy. This research investigates the relationship between cultural values and marketing ethics in two diverse countries: India and the United States. Paul, Roy, and Mukhopadhyay show that these countries are indeed culturally different, though the gaps have narrowed considerably since Hofstede’s study was published. Furthermore, the results also indicate significant differences in the interpretation of the marketing ethical norms between these two countries.

Data were collected from India (n = 188) and the United States of America (n = 110). A confirmatory factor analysis showed that the factorial structures of both the five cultural and the five ethical dimensions were equivalent across both populations. A multigroup path analysis tested the influence of the cultural dimensions on the ethical norms for both countries. There was a significant, positive effect of the cultural dimension of collectivism on all norms for both countries, except price and distribution (significant only for India). Uncertainly avoidance had a positive effect on only two norms, price and distribution and information and contract, and only for the United States. The masculinity construct had a negative effect on general honesty and integrity for both countries but a negative effect on obligation and disclosure and product and promotion only for India. Power distance had a negative impact on information and contract and product and promotion only for India. Finally, long-term orientation had a positive impact on general honesty and integrity, information and contract, and product and promotion for both countries but on obligation and disclosure only for the United States.

The specific implications of these findings are as follows: Some of the marketing ethical norms can be construed and interpreted differently in India; therefore, U.S. managers must explain their expectations and underlying assumptions at the outset when conducting business internationally. The paradigm of “cultural relativism” (i.e., ethics vary from one culture to another on the basis of the business practices of the host culture) holds true, and thus firms are advised that “when in Rome, do as Romans.” It may be beneficial to organize training programs for managers from participating countries to develop and reinforce a formal or an informal common code of ethics. A common understanding of this code of ethics can also be established from the perspectives of different stakeholders with diverse cultural backgrounds to minimize the chances of subsequent misunderstandings.

Biography
Pallab Paul is Associate Professor of Marketing in the Daniels College of Business at the University of Denver. He received his PhD in Business Administration from the University of Arizona. His marketing expertise and interest has two focal areas: international marketing/business and marketing on the Internet/e-commerce. He has published in several outlets, including Journal of Advertising, Journal of Consumer Psychology, Journal of Teaching in International Business, Marketing Education Review, Journal of Financial Services Marketing, Journal of Consumer Marketing, and the American Journal of Psychology.

Abhijit Roy is Associate Professor of Marketing in the Kania School of Management at the University of Scranton. He has a PhD in Marketing from Boston University and an MBA and an MS from the University of Arizona. His research interests are in global marketing, marketing to and through associations, marketing ethics, and public policy issues. He has published in several outlets, including Journal of Business to Business Marketing, Journal of Marketing Education, Industrial Marketing Management, Journal of Consumer Marketing, Journal of Services Marketing, Journal of Direct Marketing, Journal of Product and Brand Management, and Journal of Database Marketing.

Kausiki Mukhopadhyay is Adjunct Professor of Management in the Daniels College of Business at the University of Denver. She received her MA in Organizational Sociology from the University of Maryland and is currently working for her PhD at the Graduate School of International Studies of the University of Denver. Her areas of expertise and interest involve consumer behavior, workforce diversity in international management, and cross-cultural issues in global business. She has recently published in Journal of Teaching in International Business, Marketing Education Review, and Asian Studies Review.