Abstract

As more and more firms operate globally, an understanding of the differences in ethical decision making across cultures is very important in designing effective marketing management practices and avoiding potential business pitfalls. Although a limited number of articles have surfaced in this area, cultural dimensions have not been directly and appropriately examined. Thus, the purpose of this study was to explore how cultural dimensions influenced ethical decision making in marketing. The study applied Hofstede's typology to measure effect of culture on ethical decision making. The results indicated that individualism and Confucian dynamism were positively associated with one's deontological norms, that uncertainty avoidance and Confucian dynamism had a positive effect on the perceptions of ethical dilemmas, while power distance and individualism had a negative effect, and that Confucian dynamism had a positive, strong effect on the importance of stakeholders, while other independent variables had only a small effect. This study should prove valuable and significant to international marketers since it allows managers to identify the differences of work-related values of their employees across cultures and provides managers with a theoretical base for designing effective sales management practices