The integration and testing of the Janus-Headed Model within marketing

摘要

A review by Vitell and Ho [J Bus Ethics 16 (1997) 699] calls for more rigorous empirical testings of current ethical decision-making models (EDMMs). The study's premise is that a more specific understanding of the moral reasoning processes leading to an ethical decision is necessary to bring greater understanding. We extend the current ethical nomological network in marketing with a model from management that describes eight components of moral reasoning. Four components representing rule-based and another four representing cost/benefit-based reasoning are tested across eight consumer situations. The results suggest that: (ⅰ) consumers make relative use of rule- and cost/ benefit-based reasoning processes when making an ethical decision; (ⅱ) all ethical decisions are preceded by a combination of rule- and cost/ benefit-based reasoning processes with none preceded by a pure rule- or cost/benefit-based reasoning process; and (ⅲ) the relative use of reasoning processes used by consumers changes across situation and information.