Exonerating Unethical Marketing Executive Behaviors: A Diagnostic Framework

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Abstract
Although unethical marketing behaviors of corporations have been studied and some normative frameworks suggested for judging their ethicality, no research has focused on assessing individual responsibilities of marketing executives for the consequences of their unethical actions. The author identifies major factors that exonerate executive responsibility and those that enhance. He derives ten testable research propositions that constitute the framework for the diagnostic model. The model challenges marketing executives to go beyond legal and attributional responsibilities to appropriational responsibilities of commitment to consumers they serve.