Research note: Selected factors influencing marketers’ deontological norms

Abstract

This paper focuses on deontological norms of professional marketers. The data were obtained from a mail survey of American Marketing Association members. The results generally indicate that deontological norms are a function of Machiavellianism and locus of control. That is, as hypothesized, those high in Machiavellianism and with an “external” locus of control tend to be “lower” in their deontological norms than their counterparts. This study, however, found no relationship between organizational culture and deontological norms. Nevertheless, to a certain degree, an organization, by means of its codes of ethical enforcement, can affect its employees’ deontological norms in a positive way. The results also indicate that business experience positively correlate with deontological norms and that there was no significant relationship between gender and deontological norms.