Disparity in consumer ethics reflects cultural variations; these are differences in the collective programming of the mind that distinguishes one culture from another. This study explores the differences in consumer ethics across cultural dimensions using Hofstede's (in Culture's consequences: international differences in work-related values, Sage, Beverly Hills, 1980) model (collectivism, masculinity, power distance, and uncertainty avoidance) and Muncy and Vitell (in J Bus Res 24(4):297-311, 1992) consumer ethics model (i.e., illegal, active, passive, and no harm). This is the first study to empirically explore consumer ethics using these two major constructs. Seven hundred sixty one African American consumers were used to test the four major hypotheses developed in this study. Current research has revealed that there are significant differences in ethics between consumers who score high and consumers who score low on Hofstede's four cultural dimensions. In general, this research revealed that consumers who score high on collectivism, high on uncertainty avoidance, low on masculinity, and low on power distance scales reject questionable activities more than consumers who score low on collectivism, low on uncertainty avoidance, high on masculinity, and high on power distance. This study should prove valuable to international marketers because the Hofstede cultural model allows managers to identify differences in consumer ethics across different cultures and thus provides a theoretical base for designing effective marketing strategies.Keywords Culture Á Hofstede model Á Consumer ethics Á African American subculture Á Muncy and Vitell modelAs the USA becomes more heterogeneous, with an increasing minorities population, marketers need to develop better understanding of the diverse values of the subcultures that mark the American society. Understanding consumers' subculture is vital for the development of successful marketing strategies that integrate consumers' moral values. Cultural generalizations about whole societies and how they view ethical issues may not be completely appropriate in the future (Jenner et al. 2008). Marketers should focus on the value set of each small group of individuals when developing their internal policies and their external marketing strategies (Huo and Randall 1991).Hofstede et al. (2010) defined culture as the collective programming of the mind which distinguishes the members of one group of people from another. Culture is recognized as an important variable influencing consumer ethical decision-making and behavior (Singhapakdi et al. 1994;Tavakoli et al. 2003). Culture affects the marketing mix (product development, promotion, distribution, and pricing) because it determines what consumers wear and eat and where they reside and travel. Hofstede (1980) theorized that cultures could be contrasted along four dimensions: individualism/collectivism, masculinity/femininity, power distance, and uncertainty avoidance. Individualism/ collectivism represents the relation between an individu...
This study examines the role of acculturation in shaping consumers' views of ethics. Specifically, it examines the relationships between the desire to keep one's original culture, the desire to adopt the host culture, and the four dimensions of the Muncy and Vitell (Journal of Business Research Ethics 24(4), 297, 1992) consumer ethics scale. Using two separate immigrant populationsone of former Middle-Eastern residents now living in the U.S. and the other of Asian immigrants in the U.S. -results indicate that those who want to keep their original culture are less tolerant of unethical consumer activities, while those who are more willing to adopt the host culture are more tolerant of these same consumer activities. Furthermore, the immigrants in both studies who are more tolerant of unethical consumer activities are those who are generally somewhat younger and with less formal education. The relationship between gender and consumer ethics was not significant.
This study was designed to examine the determinants of and differences between the ethical beliefs of two groups of Japanese students in religious and secular universities. Multiple regression analysis revealed that students of the Japanese religious university perceived that young, male, relativistic, and opportunistic students tended to behave less ethically than did older, female, and idealistic students. Students of the Japanese secular university perceived that male, achievement-oriented, and opportunistic students tended to behave less ethically than did female and experience-oriented students. Opportunism was found to be one of the most important determinants in explaining misconduct. Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) and multiple discriminant analysis (MDA) revealed that students of the Japanese secular university tended to score higher on achievement and humanism, and lower on theism and positivism than did students of the Japanese religious university. In addition, students of the Japanese secular university were somewhat more sensitive to academic dishonesty practices than were students of the Japanese religious university. Copyright Springer 2006comparison study, ethical beliefs, Japan, religion,
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