Ethical Sensitivity to Stakeholder Interests: A Cross-Cultural Comparison

This study applied Hofstede's typology to examine the effect of culture on ethical sensitivity toward various stakeholders. It was found that uncertainty avoidance had a positive effect and that power distance and individualism/masculinity had negative effects on ethical sensitivity. The result...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science 2001-04, Vol.29 (2), p.190-202
Main Authors: Blodgett, J. G., Lu, L.-C., Rose, G. M., Vitell, S. J.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Behavior
Competition
Cross cultural studies
Cultural differences
Culture
Customers
Decision making
Employers
Individualism
Influence
International markets
Marketing
Professional ethics
Salespeople
Shareholder relations
Stakeholders
Statistical analysis
Values
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Summary:This study applied Hofstede's typology to examine the effect of culture on ethical sensitivity toward various stakeholders. It was found that uncertainty avoidance had a positive effect and that power distance and individualism/masculinity had negative effects on ethical sensitivity. The results also indicated that ethical sensitivity to stakeholder interests is dependent on which stakeholder is affected. Although Americans and Taiwanese sales agents were equally sensitive to customer interests, the Taiwanese were more sensitive to the interests of their company and a competitor but were less sensitive to the interests of a colleague. This study should prove valuable to international marketers because the cultural typology allows managers to identify differences in work-related values of employees across different nationalities and thus provides a theoretical base for designing more effective sales management practices.
ISSN:0092-0703
1552-7824
DOI:10.1177/03079459994551