A foundational theory of ethical decision-making: The case of marketing professionals
研究发现营销专业人士对后果的认知会通过自我认同影响伦理决策，且性别起调节作用，男性效应更强，为营销伦理决策提供了基础理论。
Despite the risk of negative consequences from bad publicity, many brands continue to engage in unethical marketing. With unethical marketing being widely reported in the media, this study commenced with the assumption that awareness of consequences (AC) has little impact on ethical decision-making (EDM). This assumption, however, was empirically refuted based on a survey where marketing professionals with high levels of AC engage more in EDM. Noteworthily, this study found that the relationship between AC and EDM is mediated by self-identity (SI), which highlighted the importance for marketing professionals to recognize their own moral identity in ensuring the translation of their AC into EDM. The study also revealed that gender plays a moderating role in the aforementioned relationship, with the effect being stronger for men as opposed to women, a noteworthy deviation from past findings. The implications of these findings are discussed in relation to theory and practice, wherein a foundational theory of ethical decision-making is established.