The general theory of marketing ethics, first published in the Journal of Macromarketing by Hunt and Vitell (1986), has been the focus of much discussion and empirical testing. As a result, the theory was revised in 1993. This article overviews the 1993 revision of the model and addresses three questions that are often asked by those who use the model in the classroom and/or in research: (1) What is the justification for using normative ethical theory as a starting point for positing a positive ethical theory? (2) Is the Hunt Vitell (H-V) model a causal model, that is, is each concept in the model a construct to be measured? (3) How, specifically, can the H-V theory be used to teach marketing and business ethics?
Ajzen, Icek. 1985. From intentions to actions: A theory of planned behavior. In Action control: From cognition to behavior, edited by J. Kuhl and J. Beckman, 11-39. Berlin: Springer-Verlag.
2.
Allport, Gordon W., and J. Michael Ross. 1967. Personal religious orientation and prejudice. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology5:432-443.
3.
Bartels, Robert. 1967. A model for ethics in marketing. Journal of Marketing31 (January): 20-26.
4.
Bebeau, Muriel J., James R. Rest, and C. M. Yamoor. 1985. Measuring dental students ethical sensitivity. Journal of Dental Education49:225-235.
5.
Burns, Jane O., and Pamela Kiecker. 1995. Tax practitioner ethics: An empirical investigation of organizational consequences. Journal of the American Taxation Association17 (2): 20-49.
6.
Cole, Dennis, M.Joseph Sirgy, and Monroe Murphy Bird. 2000. How do managers make teleological evaluations in ethical dilemmas? Testing part of the Hunt-Vitell model. Journal of Business Ethics26:259-269.
7.
Donaldson, Thomas, and Thomas W. Dunfee. 1994. Towards a unified conception of business ethics: Integrative social contracts theory. Academy of Management Review19 (April): 252-284.
8.
Donoho, C. L., M. J. Polonsky, J. Herche, and M. J. Swenson. 1999. A cross cultural examination of the general theory of marketing ethics: Does it apply to the next generation of marketing managers? In Proceedings of the Seventh Cross Cultural Research Conference, edited by S. Smith. Cancun, Mexico.
9.
Dunfee, Thomas W., N. Craig Smith, and William T. Ross Jr. 1999. Social contracts and marketing ethics. Journal of Marketing63 (July): 14-32.
10.
Engel, James F., Roger D. Blackwell, and David T. Kollat. 1978. Consumer behavior. 3rd ed.Hinsdale, IL: Dryden.
11.
Fishbein, Martin, and Icek Ajzen. 1975. Belief, attitude, intention and behaviour: An introduction to theory and research. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.
12.
Frankena, William. 1963. Ethics. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall
13.
Goolsby, Jerry R., and Shelby D. Hunt. 1992. Cognitive moral development and marketing. Journal of Marketing56 (January): 55-68.
14.
Hegarty, W. Harvey, and Henry P. Sims. 1978. Some determinants of unethical behavior: An experiment. Journal of Applied Psychology63 (4): 451-457.
15.
Howard, John A., and Jagdish N. Sheth. 1969. The theory of buyer behavior. New York: John Wiley.
16.
Hunt, Shelby D.1990. Commentary on an empirical investigation of a general theory of marketing ethics. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science18(2): 173-177.
17.
Hunt, Shelby D.2000. A general theory of competition: Resources, competences, productivity, economic growth. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
18.
Hunt, Shelby D.2002. Foundations of marketing theory: Toward a general theory of marketing. Armonk, NY: M. E. Sharpe.
19.
Hunt, Shelby D., and Lawrence B. Chonko. 1984. Marketing and Machiavellianism. Journal of Marketing48 (Summer): 30-42.
20.
Hunt, Shelby D., and Debra A. Laverie. 2004. Experiential learning and the Hunt-Vitell theory of ethics: Teaching marketing ethics by integrating theory and practice. Marketing Education Review14 (3): 1-14.
21.
Hunt, Shelby D., Van R. Wood, and Lawrence B. Chonko. 1989. Corporate ethical values and organizational commitment in marketing. Journal of Marketing53 (July): 79-90.
22.
Hunt, Shelby D., and Arturo Vasquez-Parraga. 1993. Organizational consequences, marketing ethics and salesforce supervision. Journal of Marketing Research30 (February): 78-90.
23.
Hunt, Shelby D., and Scott M. Vitell. 1986. A general theory of marketing ethics. Journal of Macromarketing6 (Spring): 5-15.
24.
Hunt, Shelby D., and Scott M. Vitell. 1993. The general theory of marketing ethics: A retrospective and revision. In Ethics in marketing, edited by N. C. Smith and J. A. Quelch, 775-784. Homewood, IL: Irwin.
25.
Hunt, Shelby D., and Scott M. Vitell. 2005. Personal moral codes and the Hunt-Vitell theory of ethics: Why do people's ethical judgments differ? In Business ethics: New challenges for business schools and corporate leaders, edited by Robert A. Peterson and O. C. Ferrell, 18-37. Armonk, NY: M. E. Sharpe.
26.
Jones, Thoma M.1991. Ethical decision making by individuals in organizations: An issue-contingent model. Academy of Management Review16 (February): 366-395.
27.
Kohlberg, Lawrence. 1984. Essays on moral development. Vol. 2, The psychology of moral development. New York: Harper & Row.
28.
Laczniak, Gene R., and Patrick E. Murphy. 1993. Ethical marketing decisions: The higher road. Needham Heights, MA: Allyn & Bacon.
29.
Mayer, Raymond R.1970. Management's responsibility for purchasing ethics. Journal of Purchasing4:13-20.
30.
Mayo, Michael A., and Lawrence J. Marks. 1990. An empirical investigation of a general theory of marketing ethics. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science18 (Spring): 163-172.
31.
McNeel, Steven P.1994. College teaching and student moral development. In Moral development in the professions: Psychology and applied ethics, edited by J. Rest and D. Narvaez, 27-49. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
32.
Menguc, Bulent. 1998. Organizational consequences, marketing ethics, and salesforce supervision: Further empirical evidence. Journal of Business Ethics17 (4): 333-352.
33.
Newstrom, John W., and William A. Ruch. 1975. The ethics of management and the management of ethics. MSU Business Topics23 (1): 29-37.
34.
Nucci, Larry, and Ernest T. Pascarella. 1987. The influence of college on moral development. In Higher education: Handbook of theory and research, edited by J. Smart, 271-326. New York: Armonk.
35.
Petty, Richard E., and John T. Cacioppo. 1986. Communication and persuasion: Central and peripheral routes to persuasion. New York: Springer-Verlag.
36.
Rest, James R.1986. Moral development: Advances in research and theory. New York: Praeger.
37.
Rotter, Julian B.1966. Generalized expectancies for internal versus external control of reinforcement. Psychological Monographs80 (1): Whole No. 609.
38.
Shaub, Michael K. 1989. An empirical examination of the determinants of auditors' ethical sensitivity. PhD diss., Texas Tech University, Lubbock.
39.
Sims, R. R.2002. Teaching business ethics for effective learning. Westport, CT: Quorum Books.
40.
Singhapakdi, Anusorn, and Scott J. Vitell. 1990. Marketing ethics: Factors influencing perceptions of ethical problems and alternatives. Journal of Macromarketing10 (Spring): 4-18.
41.
Singhapakdi, Anusorn, and Scott J. Vitell. 1991. Research note: Selected factors influencing marketers' deontological norms. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science19 (Winter): 37-42.
42.
Sparks, John R., and Shelby D. Hunt. 1998. Marketing researcher ethical sensitivity: Conceptualization, measurement, and exploratory investigation. Journal of Marketing62 (February): 92-109.
43.
Trevino, Linda Klebe. 1986. Ethical decision-making in organizations: A person-situation interactionist model. Academy of Management Review11 (3): 601-617.
44.
Tubbs, Mark E., and Steven E. Ekeberg. 1991. The role of intentions in work motivation: Implications for goal-setting theory and research. Academy of Management Review16 (1): 180-199.
45.
Vitell, Scott, and Shelby D. Hunt. 1990. The general theory of marketing ethics: A partial test of the model. In Research in marketing, edited by Jagdish N. Sheth, Vol. 10, 237-265. Greenwich, CT: JAI.
46.
Vitell, Scott, and Joseph G. P. Paolillo. 2003. Consumer ethics: The role of religiosity. Journal of Business Ethics46 (August 2): 151-162.
47.
Vitell, Scott, and Joseph G. P. Paolillo. 2004. A cross-cultural study of the antecedents of the perceived role of ethics and social responsibility. Business Ethics: A European Review13 (April/July): 185-199.
48.
Vitell, Scott, Joseph G. P. Paolillo, and Jatinder J. Singh. 2005. Religiosity and consumer ethics. Journal of Business Ethics57 (2): 175-181.
49.
Vitell, Scott, Anusorn Singhapakdi, and James Thomas. 2001. Consumer ethics: An application and empirical testing of the Hunt-Vitell theory of ethics. Journal of Consumer Marketing18 (2): 153-178.
50.
Volker, J. M. 1979. Moral reasoning and college experience. Unpublished manuscript, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis.
51.
Wilkes, Robert E., John J. Burnett, and Roy D. Howell. 1986. On the meaning and measurement of religiosity in consumer research. Academy of Marketing Science14 (Spring): 47-56.
52.
Williams, Oliver F., and Patrick E. Murphy. 1990. The ethics of virtue: A moral theory for marketing. Journal of Macromarketing10 (Spring): 19-29.
53.
Zey-Ferrell, Mary, K. Mark Weaver, and O. C. Ferrell. 1979. Predicting unethical behavior among marketing practitioners. Human Relations32 (7): 557-569.
