Consumer ethics in cross‐cultural settings: Entrepreneurial implications

Abstract

Entrepreneurs interested in entering different cultures and countries can be confronted with a bewildering array of differences in moral values. This situation is indicated by past research that has examined the moral judgements of American consumers, but has directed little or no effort towards investigating such attitudes in foreign‐market settings with the intent to assist the entrepreneur in understanding differences across cultures. Compares attitudes of consumers in two different countries (Northern Ireland and Hong Kong) who share a common environment of colonialism. Uses a theoretical three‐stage typology of moral development to establish hypotheses and explain the results of this study. The findings reveal Irish consumers to be less sensitive to consumer ethical issues and less idealistic than the Hong Kong consumers. However, there was no difference between the survey groups with regard to relativism and Machiavellianism. Culture, competition, economics, war and terrorism might be factors that explain such differences, as well as similarities, between the two consumer groups.

Citation

Rawwas, M.Y.A., Patzer, G.L. and Klassen, M.L. (1995), "Consumer ethics in cross‐cultural settings: Entrepreneurial implications", European Journal of Marketing, Vol. 29 No. 7, pp. 62-78. https://doi.org/10.1108/03090569510095017