Sales manager and sales team determinants of salesperson ethical behaviour

European Journal of Marketing

Volumn 43, Issue 7, 2009, Pages 907-937

  Cadogan, John W ^a   Lee, Nick ^b   Tarkiainen, Anssi ^c   Sundqvist, Sanna ^c  

^a LOUGHBOROUGH UNIVERSITY   (United Kingdom)

^b ASTON UNIVERSITY   (United Kingdom)

^c LAPPEENRANTA UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY   (Finland)

Author keywords

Business ethics; Employee behaviour; Sales management; Standards; Team working

Indexed keywords

EID: 70349625318     PISSN: 03090566     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1108/03090560910961452     Document Type: Article

References (70)

1. Al-Khatib, J.A., Stanton, A. and Rawwas, M.Y.A. (2005), "Ethical segmentation of consumers in developing countries: A comparative analysis", International Marketing Review, Vol. 22, No. 2, pp. 225-46.
2. Ashford, S.J., Lee, C. and Bobko, P. (1989), "Content, causes, and consequences of job insecurity: A theory-based measure and substantive test", Academy of Management Journal, Vol. 32, No. 4, pp. 803-29.
3. Babakus, E., Cravens, D.W., Grant, K., Ingram, T.N. and LaForge, R.W. (1996), "Investigating the relationships among sales management control, sales territory design, salesperson performance, and sales organization effectiveness", International Journal of Research In Marketing, Vol. 13, No. 4, pp. 345-63.
4. Bagozzi, R.P. and Yi, Y. (1988), "On the evaluation of structural equation models", Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Vol. 16, No. 1, pp. 74-94.
5. Barnett, T. and Valentine, S. (2004), "Issue contingencies and marketers' recognition of ethical issues, ethical judgments and behavioral intentions", Journal of Business Research, Vol. 57, No. 4, pp. 338-46.
6. Bass, K., Barnett, T. and Brown, G. (1998), "The moral philosophy of sales managers and its influence on ethical decision making", Journal of Personal Selling and Sales Management, Vol. 18, No. 2, pp. 1-17.
7. Bellizzi, J.A. (1995), "Committing and supervising unethical sales force behavior: The effects of victim gender, victim status, and sales force motivational techniques", Journal of Personal Selling and Sales Management, Vol. 15, No. 2, pp. 1-15.
8. Bellizzi, J.A. and Hasty, R.W. (2003), "Supervising unethical sales force behavior: How strong is the tendency to treat top sales performers leniently?", Journal of Business Ethics, Vol. 43, No. 4, pp. 337-51.
9. Bellizzi, J.A. and Hite, R.E. (1989), "Supervising unethical salesforce behavior", Journal of Marketing, Vol. 53, April, pp. 36-47.
10. Bhuian, S.N. and Islam, M.S. (1996), "Continuance commitment and extrinsic job satisfaction among a novel multicultural expatriate workforce", The Mid-Atlantic Journal of Business, Vol. 32, No. 1, pp. 35-46.
11. Boyle, B.A. (2000), "The impact of customer characteristics and moral philosophies on ethical judgments of salespeople", Journal of Business Ethics, Vol. 23, No. 3, pp. 249-67.
12. Cherry, J. and Fraedrich, J. (2002), "Perceived risk, moral philosophy and marketing ethics: Mediating influences on sales managers' ethical decision-making", Journal of Business Research, Vol. 55, No. 12, pp. 951-62.
13. Chonko, L.B., Tanner, J.F. Jr and Weeks, W.A. (1996), "Ethics in salesperson decision making: A synthesis of research approaches and an extension of the scenario method", Journal of Personal Selling and Sales Management, Vol. 16, No. 1, pp. 35-52.
14. Chonko, L.B., Wotruba, T.R. and Loe, T.W. (2003), "Ethics code familiarity and usefulness: Views on idealist and relativist managers under varying conditions of turbulence", Journal of Business Ethics, Vol. 42, No. 3, pp. 237-52.
15. Cornwell, B., Cui, C.C., Mitchell, V., Schlegelmilch, B., Dzulkiflee, A. and Chan, J. (2005), "A cross-cultural study of the role of religion in consumers' ethical positions", International Marketing Review, Vol. 22, No. 5, pp. 531-46.
16. Darwish, A.Y. (1998), "Satisfaction with job security as a predictor of organizational commitment and job performance in a multicultural environment", International Journal of Manpower, Vol. 19, No. 3, pp. 184-94.
17. Davy, J.A., Kinicki, A.K. and Scheck, C.L. (1997), "A test of job security's direct and mediated effects on withdrawal cognitions", Journal of Organizational Behavior, Vol. 18, No. 4, pp. 323-49.
18. de Vries, M.F.R.K. and Balazs, K. (1997), "The downside of downsizing", Human Relations, Vol. 50, No. 1, pp. 11-50.
19. Dubinsky, A.J., Nataraajan, R. and Huang, W-Y. (2004), "The influence of moral philosophy on retail salespeople's ethical perceptions", The Journal of Consumer Affairs, Vol. 38, No. 2, pp. 297-319.
20. Dunfee, T.W., Smith, N.C. and Ross, W.T. Jr (1999), "Social contracts and marketing ethics", Journal of Marketing, Vol. 63, July, pp. 14-32.
21. Ferrell, O.C. and Gresham, L.G. (1985), "A contingency framework for understanding ethical decision making in marketing", Journal of Marketing, Vol. 49, Summer, pp. 87-96.
22. Ferrell, O.C., Johnston, M.W. and Ferrell, L. (2007), "A framework for personal selling and sales management ethical decision making", Journal of Personal Selling and Sales Management, Vol. 27, No. 4, pp. 291-9.
23. Forsyth, D.R. (1980), "A taxonomy of ethical ideologies", Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Vol. 39, No. 1, pp. 175-84.
24. Forsyth, D.R. (1992), "Judging the morality of business practices: The influence of personal moral philosophies", Journal of Business Ethics, Vol. 11, Nos 5/6, pp. 461-70.
25. Gerbing, D.W. and Hamilton, J.G. (1996), "Viability of exploratory factor analysis as a precursor to confirmatory factor analysis", Structural Equation Modeling, Vol. 3, No. 1, pp. 62-72.
26. Hoffman, K.D., Howe, V. and Hardigree, D.W. (1991), "Ethical dilemmas faced in the selling of complex services: Significant others and competitive pressures", Journal of Personal Selling and Sales Management, Vol. 11, No. 4, pp. 13-25.
27. Honeycutt, E.D. Jr, Siguaw, J.A. and Hunt, T.G. (1995), "Business ethics and job-related constructs: A cross-cultural comparison of automotive salespeople", Journal of Business Ethics, Vol. 14, No. 3, pp. 235-48.
28. Honeycutt, E.D. Jr, Glassman, M., Zugelder, M.T. and Karande, K. (2001), "Determinants of ethical behavior: A study of autosalespeople", Journal of Business Ethics, Vol. 32, No. 1, pp. 69-79.
29. Howe, V., Hoffman, K.D. and Hardigree, D.W. (1994), "The relationship between ethical and customer-oriented service provider behaviors", Journal of Business Ethics, Vol. 13, No. 7, pp. 497-506.
30. Hunt, S.D. and Vasquez-Parraga, A.Z. (1993), "Organizational consequences, marketing ethics, and salesforce supervision", Journal of Marketing Research, Vol. 30, February, pp. 78-90.
31. Hunt, S.D. and Vitell, S.J. (1986), "A general theory of marketing ethics", Journal of Macromarketing, Vol. 6, No. 1, pp. 5-16.
32. Hunt, S.D. and Vitell, S.J. (1993), "The general theory of marketing ethics: A retrospective and revision" in Smith, N.C. and Quelch, J.A. (Eds.), Ethics in Marketing, Richard D. Irwin, Homewood, IL, pp. 775-84.
33. Hunt, S.D. and Vitell, S.J. (2006), "The general theory of marketing ethics: A revision and three questions", Journal of Macromarketing, Vol. 26, No. 2, pp. 143-53.
34. Hunt, S.D., Wood, V.R. and Chonko, L.B. (1989), "Corporate ethical values and organizational commitment in marketing", Journal of Marketing, Vol. 53, July, pp. 79-90.
35. Ingram, T.N., LaForge, R.W. and Schwepker, C.H. Jr (2007), "Salesperson ethical decision making: The impact of sales leadership and sales management control strategy", Journal of Personal Selling and Sales Management, Vol. 27, No. 4, pp. 301-15.
36. Ishida, C. (2006), "How do scores of DIT and MJT differ? A critical assessment of the use of alternative moral development scales in studies of business ethics", Journal of Business Ethics, Vol. 67, No. 1, pp. 63-74.
37. Iverson, R.D. and Roy, P. (1994), "A causal model of behavioral commitment: Evidence from a study of australian blue-collar employees", Journal of Management, Vol. 20, No. 1, pp. 15-41.
38. Jaworski, B.J. and Kohli, A.K. (1991), "Supervisory feedback: Alternative types and their impact on salespeople's performance and satisfaction", Journal of Marketing Research, Vol. 28, May, pp. 190-201.
39. Jaworski, B.J. and Kohli, A.K. (1993), "Market orientation: Antecedents and consequences", Journal of Marketing, Vol. 57, July, pp. 53-70.
40. Katz, D. and Kahn, R.L. (1966), The Social Psychology of Organizations, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York, NY.
41. Kinnunen, U., Mauno, S., Natti, J. and Happonen, M. (2000), "Organizational antecedents and outcomes of job insecurity: A longitudinal study in three organizations in Finland", Journal of Organizational Behavior, Vol. 21, No. 4, pp. 443-59.
42. Laczniak, G.R. and Murphy, P.E. (2006), "Normative perspectives for ethical and socially responsible marketing", Journal of Macromarketing, Vol. 26, No. 2, pp. 154-77.
43. Lagace, R.R., Dahlstrom, R. and Gassenheimer, J.B. (1991), "The relevance of ethical salesperson behavior on relationship quality: The pharmaceutical industry", Journal of Personal Selling and Sales Management, Vol. 11, No. 4, pp. 39-47.
44. Lim, V.K.G. (1996), "Job insecurity and its outcomes: Moderating effects of work-based and nonwork-based social support", Human Relations, Vol. 49, No. 2, pp. 171-94.
45. MacKenzie, S.B., Podsakoff, P.M. and Ahearne, M. (1998), "Some possible antecedents and consequences of in-role and extra-role salesperson performance", Journal of Marketing, Vol. 62, July, pp. 87-98.
46. Murphy, W.H. (2004), "In pursuit of short-term goals: Anticipating the unintended consequences of using special incentives to motivate the sales force", Journal of Business Research, Vol. 57, No. 11, pp. 1265-75.
47. Oliver, R.L. and Anderson, E. (1994), "An empirical test of the consequences of behavior- and outcome-based sales control systems", Journal of Marketing, Vol. 58, October, pp. 53-67.
48. Podsakoff, P.M., MacKenzie, S.B., Paine, J.B. and Bachrach, D.G. (2000), "Organizational citizenship behaviors: A critical review of the theoretical and empirical literature and suggestions for future research", Journal of Management, Vol. 26, No. 3, pp. 513-63.
49. Probst, T.M. (2003a), "Exploring employee outcomes of organizational restructuring: A solomon four-group study", Group and Organization Management, Vol. 28, No. 3, pp. 416-39.
50. Probst, T.M. (2003b), "Development and validation of the job security index and the job security satisfaction scale: A classical test theory and IRT approach", Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, Vol. 76, December, pp. 451-67.
51. Ramsey, R.P., Marshall, G.W., Johnston, M.W. and Deeter-Schmelz, D.R. (2007), "Ethical ideologies and older consumer perceptions of unethical sales tactics", Journal of Business Ethics, Vol. 70, No. 2, pp. 1919-207.
52. Robertson, D.C. and Anderson, E. (1993), "Control system and task environment effects on ethical judgment: An exploratory study of industrial salespeople", Organization Science, Vol. 4, No. 4, pp. 617-44.
53. Román, S. and Munuera, J.L. (2005), "Determinants and consequences of ethical behaviour: An empirical study of salespeople", European Journal of Marketing, Vol. 39, Nos 5/6, pp. 473-95.
54. Román, S. and Ruiz, S. (2005), "Relationship outcomes of perceived ethical sales behavior: The customer's perspective", Journal of Business Research, Vol. 58, No. 4, pp. 439-45.
55. Ross, W.T. Jr and Robertson, D.C. (2003), "A typology of situational factors: Impact on salesperson decision-making about ethical issues", Journal of Business Ethics, Vol. 46, No. 3, pp. 213-34.
56. Schlenker, B.R. and Forsyth, D.R. (1977), "On the ethics of psychological research", Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, Vol. 13, No. 4, pp. 369-96.
57. Schwepker, C.H. Jr (1999), "Understanding salespeople's intention to behave unethically: The effects of perceived competitive intensity, cognitive moral development and moral judgment", Journal of Business Ethics, Vol. 21, No. 4, pp. 303-16.
58. Schwepker, C.H. Jr and Good, D.J. (2007), "Sales management's influence on employment and training in developing an ethical sales force", Journal of Personal Selling and Sales Management, Vol. 27, No. 4, pp. 325-39.
59. Schwepker, C.H. Jr and Ingram, T.N. (1996), "Improving sales performance through ethics: The relationship between salesperson moral judgment and job performance", Journal of Business Ethics, Vol. 15, No. 11, pp. 1151-60.
60. Singhapakdi, A., Higgs-Kleyn, N. and Rao, C.P. (1999), "Selected antecedents and components of ethical decision-making processes of American and South African marketers: A cross cultural analysis", International Marketing Review, Vol. 16, No. 6, pp. 458-75.
61. Singhapakdi, A., Vitell, S.J. and Leelakulthanit, O. (1994), "A cross-cultural study of moral philosophies, ethical perceptions and judgments: A comparison of American and Thai managers", International Marketing Review, Vol. 11, No. 6, pp. 65-78.
62. Singhapakdi, A., Salyachivin, S., Virakul, B. and Veerayangkur, V. (2000), "Some important factors underlying ethical decision making of managers in Thailand", Journal of Business Ethics, Vol. 27, No. 3, pp. 271-84.
63. Sivadas, E., Kleiser, S.B., Kellaris, J. and Dahlstrom, R. (2002), "Moral philosophy, ethical evaluations, and sales manager hiring intentions", Journal of Personal Selling and Sales Management, Vol. 23, No. 1, pp. 7-21.
64. Tansey, R., Brown, G., Hyman, M.R. and Dawson, L.E. Jr (1994), "Personal moral philosophies and the moral judgments of salespeople", Journal of Personal Selling and Sales Management, Vol. 14, No. 1, pp. 59-75.
65. Tsalikis, J. and Fritzsche, D.J. (1989), "Business ethics: A literature review with a focus on marketing ethics", Journal of Business Ethics, Vol. 8, No. 9, pp. 695-743.
66. Valentine, S. and Barnett, T. (2007), "Perceived organizational ethics and the ethical decisions of sales and marketing personnel", Journal of Personal Selling and Sales Management, Vol. 27, No. 4, pp. 373-88.
67. Verbeke, W., Ouwerkerk, C. and Peelen, E. (1996), "Exploring the contextual and individual factors on ethical decision making of salespeople", Journal of Business Ethics, Vol. 15, No. 11, pp. 1175-87.
68. Weeks, W.A. and Nantel, J. (1992), "Corporate codes of ethics and sales force behavior: A case study", Journal of Business Ethics, Vol. 11, No. 10, pp. 753-60.
69. Yilmaz, C. and Hunt, S.D. (2001), "Salesperson cooperation: The influence of relational, task, organizational, and personal factors", Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Vol. 29, No. 4, pp. 335-57.
70. Yitzhak, F., Slowik, L.H., Shperling, Z., Franz, C., Ben-David, H.A., Avital, N. and Yeverechyahu, U. (2003), "The moderating effect of job security on the relation between role clarity and job performance: A longitudinal field study", Human Relations, Vol. 56, No. 7, pp. 787-805.