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Ethics and Social Responsibility in

Marketing: An Examination of the Ethical
Evaluation of Advertising Strategies
Saviour L. S. Nwachukwu
S O UT H E R N U N I V E R S I T Y AN D A & M C OL L E G E

Scott J. Vitell, Jr.

UNIVERSITY OF MISSISSIPPI

Faye W. Gilbert
UNIVERSITY OF MISSISSIPPI

James H. Barnes
UNIVERSITY OF MISSISSIPPI

Controversies over the ethical implications of advertising have existed

since its creation. The purpose of this research is to examine the ethical
judgments of advertising and marketing practitioners with an experimental
design that manipulates three critical variables of interest: individual
autonomy, consumer sovereignty, and the nature of the product. Respondents generally rated ads targeted at individuals who are not autonomous
(mature) as less ethical than ads targeted at those who are perceived as
autonomous. Similarly, ads targeted at those with low sovereignty were
perceived as less ethical than ads aimed at consumers perceived to have
high sovereignty. Finally, ads for harmful products were perceived to be
less ethical than ads for nonharmful products. Thus, all three variables
play a significant role in terms of the ethical judgments of ads. J BUSN
RES 1997. 39.107 118. 1997 Elsevier Science Inc.
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cholars and practitioners have been concerned about

ethical perceptions of business practices since selling
and persuasion became major tools of the exchange
process. Unintended ethical outcomes of marketing and advertising may include the encouragement of unsafe behavior,
confused assessment of products, reinforcement of inaccurate
stereotypes, and cynicism (Pollay, 1986). Baumhart (1961)
identified several unethical practices of concern to business
executives. These included price discrimination, unfair credit
practices, and dishonest advertising. Although the set of un-

Address correspondence to Dr. Scott J. Vitell, Jr., Department of Manage ment and Marketing, School of Business Administration, University of Mississippi, University, MS 38677.
Journal of Business Research 39, 107-118 (1997)
1997 Elsevier Science Inc.
655 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10010

ethical practices was still present several years later (Brenner

and Molander, 1977), the order of importance changed with
time. Similar concerns have been related to the appraisal of
advertising (Wright and Mertes, 1974), reinforcing the need
for research in this area (cf., Pollay, 1986; Porter, 1954; MacBride, 1980).
Practitioners are particularly uneasy about the truthfulness
and ultimate social impact of advertising (Greyser and Reece,
1971). Corporate social responsibility is a social contract between business and society that involves a common understanding of the obligations and duties of business that impact
societal welfare (Steiner, 1972; Robin and Reidenbach, 1987).
In contrast, business ethics relates to the systematic, valuebased deliberation by individuals on the moral significance
of personal and organizational actions and their consequences
to society (Epstein, 1987).
Because of its visibility, advertising has been particularly
open to criticism (Hunt, Kiecker, and Chonko, 1990). Promotional activities for unwholesome products such as cigarettes
(Assael, 1990; Koeppel, 1990; Pollay, Lee, and Carter-Whitney, 1992; Schlossberg, 1990), for high-priced products directed toward inner city children (Brown, 1990), and for
inappropriate products in less developed countries (McCo mas, Fookes, and Taucher, 1985; Post, 1985) all indicate a
need for greater knowledge of ethical practices and judgments.
The level of knowledge and sophistication of target markets,
the autonomy of individuals exposed to advertising, and the
nature of the product being advertised are basic issues in need
of research. Frameworks for the examination of these factors
have been proposed by some scholars (e.g., Leiser, 1979;
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