Jatinder J. Singh, Scott J. Vitell, Jamal Al-Khatib, and Irvine Clark III
Executive Summary
Cross-cultural ethics is the focus of this study by Singh and colleagues, who examine the role of moral intensity and personal moral philosophies in the decision-making processes of marketing managers in both the Chinese and the American cultures. Given the importance of China as a trading partner with the United States and other Western countries, the results of this study have significant implications for global marketing executives. The findings from this study can also help global companies that conduct business in China to become more aware of their host country’s ethical environment.
As Singh and colleagues predict, the findings indicate that moral intensity—the extent of issue-related moral imperatives in a particular situation—is a significant predictor of ethical judgments, and ethical judgments are a significant predictor of behavioral intentions for executives in both cultures. Furthermore, and again as Singh and colleagues predict, idealism—a personal moral philosophy in which a person believes that absolute moral principles exist and that good consequences can always be obtained—is a significant predictor of perceived moral intensity for both samples of marketing practitioners. Conversely, relativism, a personal moral philosophy in which a person tends to reject the notion that absolute moral principles exist and that bad consequences are often mixed with good ones, is a significant predictor of moral intensity only for the Chinese sample, but not for the U.S. sample.
The implications of Singh and colleagues’ findings are that global marketing executives dealing with their Chinese counterparts must be aware that the more relativistic attitude of the Chinese is a reflection of an attitude that shows up in many ways in modern Chinese society. The Chinese have a less clear and inflexible demarcation between right and wrong. In China, most things seem permissible in and of themselves, if they do not do damage in other ways. Thus, it is imperative that joint-venture partners to Chinese firms and global managers operating in China codify desirable versus undesirable behavioral activities. Global and Chinese joint-venture partners should agree on a middle ground of firm-specific policies and ethical codes. Finally, firms operating in China should attempt to influence the ethical sensitivity of their Chinese partners and employees by establishing a culture-sensitive, but strictly enforced, code of ethics to govern the firm’s relationship with its Chinese constituents.
Biography
Jatinder J. Singh is a Doctoral Candidate in Marketing at the University of Mississippi. He received his MBA from Punjab Technical University, India, and his BS from Guru Nanak Dev University, India. His research interests focus on consumer ethics, emotions, and cross-cultural research. His publications have appeared in Journal of Business Ethics and in American Marketing Association conference proceedings.
Scott J. Vitell is Phil B. Hardin Professor of Marketing at the University of Mississippi. He received his PhD in Marketing from Texas Tech University and his MBA from Michigan State University. His research is primarily in the area of business and consumer ethics. He regularly teaches marketing theory at the doctoral level and social, ethical and legal issues in marketing at the undergraduate level. He has also consulted with numerous small businesses regarding issues related to marketing strategy and implementation. His recent publications have appeared in Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Journal of Retailing, Journal of Business Ethics, Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice, Journal of Macromarketing, International Business Review, and Journal of Consumer Marketing, among others. In addition, he currently serves as the marketing and consumer behavior section editor for Journal of Business Ethics.
Jamal Al-Khatib is Professor of Marketing and Director of the Small Business Institute at the University of St. Thomas. He specializes in strategic marketing management and multicultural and cross-cultural marketing. He teaches in the areas of strategic marketing management, marketing research, and global marketing. His industry experience comes from the banking industry, in which he worked as the director of marketing for a large international bank. He has also consulted for numerous small and medium-sized for profit and not-for-profit organizations in issues related to marketing strategy planning and implementation, marketing research, and global marketing. Al-Khatib’s research is focused on cross-cultural marketing ethics, global marketing strategy, and business education. His research has appeared in Journal of World Business, International Marketing Review, European Journal of Marketing, Thunderbird International Business Review, Journal of Business Ethics, Industrial Marketing Management, International Business Review, Marketing Education Review, Journal of Education for Business, Journal of International Consumer Marketing, Journal of Marketing Channels, Journal of Teaching in International Business, and several other journals and international and national conference proceedings.
Irvine Clarke III (PhD, Old Dominion University) is Wampler-Longacre Chair of Marketing at James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia. His research interests include cross-cultural methodology, marketing technologies, and global marketing.
Journal of International Marketing, Vol. 15, No. 2, June 2007
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