![[PDF]](/pb-assets/Icons/adobe-pdf-icon-1498649896243.png){kind=icon}
Abstract
The field of sales draws a large number of marketing graduates. Sales curricula used within today’s marketing programs should include rigorous discussions of sales ethics. The Personal Selling Ethics Scale (PSE) provides an analytical tool for assessing and discussing students’ ethical sales sensitivities. However, since the scale fails to address many ethical issues within the personal selling process, it should be revised. The current research assessed the PSE’s content validity via a content analysis of today’s university sales texts, popular press sales books, and codes of ethics. Results of the content analysis were used to develop a revised scale (PSE-2) that includes new scenarios suggested by the literature search. A sample of 669 students was used to replicate the original study and test the revised PSE-2 and its new ethical scenarios. The updated scale offers marketing educators an effective tool by which to enhance sales ethics discussions.
|
Abbott Laboratories. (2009). Code of business conduct. Chicago. IL: Author. Google Scholar | |
|
Abratt, R. , & Penman, N. ( 2002). Understanding factors affecting salespeople’s perceptions of ethical behavior in South Africa. Journal of Business Ethics , 35, 269-279. Google Scholar | Crossref | |
|
Alessandra, T. , Wexler, P. , & Barrera, R. ( 1987). Non-manipulative selling. New York, NY: Prentice Hall. Google Scholar | |
|
American Marketing Association. (2009). Statement of ethics. Chicago. IL: Author. Google Scholar | |
|
Anderson, R. , Dubinsky, A. , & Mehta, R. ( 2007). Personal selling: Building customer relationships and partnerships (2nd ed.). Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin. Google Scholar | |
|
Baldridge, J. ( 2000). The fast forward MBA in selling. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley. Google Scholar | |
|
Bosworth, Michael T. ( 1994) Solution selling: creating buyers in difficult selling markets New York, NY: McGraw-Hill . Google Scholar | |
|
Boylan, M. ( 1997). The power to get in. New York, NY : St. Martin’s Griffin. Google Scholar | |
|
Business Accreditation Standards (Standard 15) Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business. Retrieved: February 13, 2011, from http://www.aacsb.edu/accreditation/business/standards/aol/standard15.asp Google Scholar | |
|
Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2009). Employed persons by detailed occupation, sex, race, and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity. Retrieved from http://www.bls.gov/cps/cpsaat11.pdf Google Scholar | |
|
Burg, B. ( 2006). Endless referrals (3rd ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill. Google Scholar | |
|
Cates, B. ( 2004). Get more referrals now. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill. Google Scholar | |
|
Charan, R. ( 2007). What the customer wants you to know. New York, NY: Portfolio. Google Scholar | |
|
Chonko, L. , Raymond, W. , LaForge, R. , & Schwepker, C. ( 2007). Salesperson ethical decision making: The impact of sales leadership and sales management control strategy. Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management, 27(4), 301-315. Google Scholar | Crossref | |
|
Chonko, L. , Tanner, J. , & Weeks, W. ( 1996). Ethics in salesperson decision making: A synthesis of research approaches and an extension of the scenario method. Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management, 16(1), 35-52. Google Scholar | |
|
Chonko, L. , Wotruba T. , & Loe, T. ( 2002). Direct selling ethics at the top: An industry audit and status report. Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management , 22(2), 87-95. Google Scholar | |
|
Chonko, L. , Wotruba, T. , & Loe, T. ( 2003). Ethics code familiarity and usefulness: Views on idealist and relativist managers under varying conditions of turbulence. Journal of Business Ethics, 42, 237-252. Google Scholar | Crossref | |
|
Cialdini, R. ( 2007). Influence: the psychology of persuasion. New York, NY: Collins. Google Scholar | |
|
Cron, W. , & DeCarlo, T. ( 2009). Dalrymple’s sales management (10th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley. Google Scholar | |
|
Dabholkar, P. , & Kellaris, J. ( 1992). Toward understanding marketing students’ ethical judgment of controversial personal sales practices. Journal of Business Research, 24, 313-329. Google Scholar | Crossref | |
|
Direct Selling Association. (2009). DSA’s code of ethics. Retrieved from http://www.dsa.org/ethics/code/ Google Scholar | |
|
Donaldson, B. ( 2007). Sales management: Theory and practice (3rd ed.). New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan. Google Scholar | |
|
Donoho, C. , Herche, J. , & Swenson, M. ( 2003). A cross cultural study of the effects of achievement and relationship values on student evaluations of personal selling ethical dilemmas. Marketing Education Review, 13(3), 53-63. Google Scholar | Crossref | |
|
Donoho, C. , Polonsky, M. , Cohen, D. , Balazs, A. , Herche, J. , Swenson, M. , & Smith, M. ( 1998). A preliminary investigation of the universality of the personal selling ethics scale. Contemporary Issues in International Business and Marketing, 1, 109-122. Google Scholar | |
|
Dubinsky, A. , Joslen, M. , Michaels, R. , Kotabe, M. , & Lim, C. ( 1992). Ethical perceptions of field sales personnel: an empirical assessment. Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management , 12(4), 9-21. Google Scholar | |
|
Dudley, G. , & Goodson, S. ( 1999). Psychology of sales call: Reluctance. Dallas, TX: Behavioral Sciences Research Press. Google Scholar | |
|
Duncan, T. ( 2002). High trust selling: Make more money in less time with less stress, Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson. Google Scholar | |
|
Feigon, J. ( 2010). Smart selling on the phone and online. New York, NY: Amacom. Google Scholar | |
|
Forsyth, D. ( 1980). A taxonomy of ethical ideologies. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 39, 175-184. Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
|
Futrell, C. ( 2009a). ABC’s of relationship selling (10th ed.). Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill. Google Scholar | |
|
Futrell, C. ( 2009b). Fundamentals of selling: Customer for life through service (11th ed.). Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill Irwin. Google Scholar | |
|
Geraghty, B. ( 1998). Visionary selling. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster. Google Scholar | |
|
Girard, J. ( 1989). How to close every sale. New York, NY: Warner Business Book. Google Scholar | |
|
Gitomer, J. ( 2008). Sales bible. New York, NY: Collins. Google Scholar | |
|
Greshes, W. ( 2006). The best damn sales book ever. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley. Google Scholar | |
|
Gschwandtner, G. ( 2007). The ultimate sales training workshop. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill. Google Scholar | |
|
Guertin, B. ( 2010). The 800 lb. guerilla of sales: How to dominate your market . Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley. Google Scholar | |
|
Hair, J. , Anderson, R. , Mehta, R. , & Babin, B. ( 2009). Sales management: Building customer relationships and partnerships. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin. Google Scholar | |
|
Havaldar, K. , & Cavale V. ( 2008). Sales and distribution management: Text and cases. New Delhi, India: Tata McGraw Hill. Google Scholar | |
|
Hoffman, K. , Howe, V. , & Hardigree, D. ( 1991). Ethical dilemmas faced in the selling of complex services: Significant others and competitive pressures. Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management, 11(4), 13-25. Google Scholar | |
|
Holly, D. ( 2002). Alternative approaches to applied ethics: a response to Carson’s critique. Business Ethics Quarterly, 12, 73-82. Google Scholar | Crossref | |
|
Honeycutt, E. , Ford, J. , & Simintiras, A. (2003). Sales management: A global perspective. New York, NY: Routledge . Google Scholar | |
|
Hoover, J. , & Sparkman, B. ( 2006). How to sell to an idiot. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley. Google Scholar | |
|
Hopkins, T. ( 1998). Sales closing for dummies. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley. Google Scholar | |
|
Hopkins, T. ( 2001). Selling for dummies. New York, NY : Hungry Minds. Google Scholar | |
|
Hopkins, T. ( 2005). How to master the art of selling. New York, NY: Business Plus. Google Scholar | |
|
Hopkins, T. , Dalrymple, D. , Cron, W. , & DeCarlo, T. ( 2008). Selling: Building relationships and achieving results . Hoboken, NJ: Wiley Pathways. Google Scholar | |
|
Howard, S. ( 2009). Boomer selling. Phoenix, AZ: Act Group. Google Scholar | |
|
Hunt, S. , & Vitell, S. ( 1986). A general theory of marketing ethics. Journal of Macromarketing, 8, 5-16. Google Scholar | SAGE Journals | |
|
Ingram, T. , LaForge, R. , Avila, R. , Schwepker, C. , & Williams, M. ( 2008). Professional selling: A trust-based approach (4th ed.). Mason, OH: Thomson-Southwestern. Google Scholar | |
|
Ingram, T. , LaForge, R. , Avila, R. , Schwepker, C. , & Williams, M. ( 2009). Sales management: Analysis and decision making. Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe. Google Scholar | |
|
Ingram, T. , LaForge, R. , Avila, R. , Schwepker, C. , & Williams, M. ( 2010). Sell. Mason, OH: Thomson-Southwestern. Google Scholar | |
|
Ingram, T. , LaForge, R. , & Schwepker, C. ( 2007). Salesperson ethical decision making: the impact of sales leadership and sales management control strategy. Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management, 27(4), 301-315. Google Scholar | Crossref | |
|
Jelinek, R. , & Ahearne, M. ( 2006). The enemy within: Examining salesperson deviance and its determinants. Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management, 26(4), 327-344. Google Scholar | Crossref | |
|
Jobber, D. , & Lancaster, G. ( 2006). Selling and sales management (7th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson. Google Scholar | |
|
Johnson, S. , & Wilson, L. ( 1984). The one minute sales person. New York, NY: Avon Books. Google Scholar | |
|
Johnston, M. , & Marshall, G. ( 2008). Relationship selling (3rd ed.). Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill. Google Scholar | |
|
Johnston, M. , & Marshall, G. ( 2009). Churchill/Ford/Walker’s sales force management (9th ed.). Boston, MA: McGraw Hill. Google Scholar | |
|
Jolles, R. ( 2009). Customer centered selling. New York, NY: Free Press. Google Scholar | |
|
Karr, R. ( 2009). Lead, sell, or get out of the way. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley. Google Scholar | Crossref | |
|
Kellaris, J. , & Dabholkar, P. ( 1989). The PSE scale: A scenario based approach to assessing the ethical sensitivity of sales students and professionals. In D. J Good (Ed.), Pi Sigma Epsilon National Conference in Sales Management (pp. 32-37). New Orleans, LA : Pi Sigma Epsilon. Google Scholar | |
|
Kennedy, D. ( 2004). No B.S.: The ultimate no-hold barred kickbutt take no prisoners and make tons of money guide. New York, NY: Entrepreneur Press. Google Scholar | |
|
Kenrath, J. ( 2006). Selling to big companies. New York, NY: Kaplan. Google Scholar | |
|
Khalsa, M. , & Illig, R. ( 2008). Let’s get real or let’s not play. New York, NY: Penguin. Google Scholar | |
|
Lill, D. ( 2005). Selling: The profession (4th ed.). Antioch, TN: DM Bass. Google Scholar | |
|
Loe, T. , & Weeks, W. ( 2000). An experimental investigation of efforts to improve sales students’ moral reasoning. Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management, 20(4), 243-251. Google Scholar | |
|
Luthy, M. ( 2007). Influences on undergraduates considering a career in professional selling. Academy of Educational Leadership Journal , 11(3), 1-7. Google Scholar | |
|
Manning, G. , Reece, B. , & Ahearne, M. ( 2010). Selling today (11th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson. Google Scholar | |
|
Manpower. (2008). Manpower’s annual 10 hardest jobs to fill survey. Retrieved from http://www.manpower.com/investors/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=305783 Google Scholar | |
|
Martin, S. ( 2009). Heavy hitter sales psychology. Laguna Hills, CA: Tilis. Google Scholar | |
|
Miesing, P. , & Preble, J. ( 1985). A comparison of five business philosophies. Journal of Business Ethics, 4, 465-476. Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
|
Miller, R. , & Heiman, S. ( 2005). The new conceptual selling. New York, NY: Business Plus. Google Scholar | |
|
Mulki, J. , Jaramillo, F. , & Locander, W. ( 2009). Effects of ethical climate and supervisory trust on salesperson’s job attitudes and intentions to quit. Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management, 26(1), 19-26. Google Scholar | Crossref | |
|
Neuendorf, K. ( 2002). The content analysis guidebook. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE. Google Scholar | |
|
Nguyen, N. , Basuray, T. , Smith, W. , Kopka, D. , & McCulloh, D. ( 2008). Ethics perception: Does teaching make a difference? Journal of Education for Business, 84, 66-75. Google Scholar | Crossref | |
|
Page, R. ( 2002). Hope is not a strategy: The 6 keys to winning the complex sale. New York, NY: Nautilus Press . Google Scholar | |
|
Palmer, S. ( 2008). Good in a room: How to sell yourself and your ideas and win over any audience. New York, NY: Currency Doubleday. Google Scholar | |
|
Parinello, A. ( 1994). Selling to VITO the very important top officer. Holbrook, MA: Adams Media. Google Scholar | |
|
Parinello, A. ( 2006). Think and sell like a CEO. New York, NY: Entrepreneur Press. Google Scholar | |
|
Polonsky, M. , Donoho, C. , & Cohen, D. ( 2003). The ethics of personal selling: A cross-cultural study of gender differences. Journal of Business and Society, 11, 46-59. Google Scholar | |
|
Rackham, N. ( 1988). SPIN selling. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill. Google Scholar | |
|
Rackham, N. ( 1989). Major account sales strategy. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill. Google Scholar | |
|
Rackham, N. ( 1996). The SPIN selling fieldbook. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill. Google Scholar | |
|
Ramsey, D. ( 2008). The everything sales book. Avon, MA : Adams Media. Google Scholar | |
|
Ramsey, R. , Marshall, G. , Johnston, M. , & Deeter-Schmelz, D. (2007). Ethical ideologies and older consumer perceptions of unethical sales tactics. Journal of Business Ethics, 70, 191-207. Google Scholar | Crossref | |
|
Reidenbach, R.E. , & Robin, D.P. ( 1990). Toward the development of a multidimensional scale for improving evaluations of business ethics. Journal of Business Ethics, 9, 639-653. Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
|
Roberts, R. ( 2008). Walk like a giant, sell like a madman. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley. Google Scholar | |
|
Rogers, B. ( 2007). Rethinking sales management: A strategic guide for practitioners . Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley. Google Scholar | |
|
Sales and Marketing Executives International, Inc. ( 2009). Sales & marketing creed: The international code of ethics for sales and marketing. Retrieved from http://www.smei.org/displaycommon.cfm?an=1&subarticlenbr=16 Google Scholar | |
|
Schiffman, S. ( 2008). Sales essentials. Avon, MA: Adams Media. Google Scholar | |
|
Schiffman, S. ( 2009). The 25 most common sales mistakes and how to avoid them (3rd ed.). Avon, NA: Adams Media. Google Scholar | |
|
Schwepker, C. , & Good, D. ( 2004). Marketing control and sales force customer orientation . Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management, 24(3), 167-179. Google Scholar | |
|
Singhapakdi, A. , & Vitell, S. ( 2007). Institutionalization of ethics and its consequences: A survey of marketing professionals. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 35, 284-294. Google Scholar | Crossref | |
|
Spiro, R. , Rich, G. , & Stanton, W. ( 2008). Management of a sales force (1 2th ed.). Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill . Google Scholar | |
|
Tanner, J. , Honeycutt, E. , & Erffmeyer, R. ( 2009). Sales management. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. Google Scholar | |
|
Tansey, R. , Brown, G. , Hyman, M. , & Dawson, L. ( 1994). Personal moral philosophies and the moral judgments of sales-people. Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management , 14(1), 59-75. Google Scholar | |
|
Tracy, B. ( 1995). Advanced selling strategies. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster. Google Scholar | |
|
Tracy, B. ( 2004). The psychology of selling. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson. Google Scholar | |
|
Tracy, B. ( 2007). The art of closing the sale. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson. Google Scholar | |
|
University Sales Education Foundation. (2010 ). Top university sales programs. Retrieved from http://www.saleseducationfoundation.org/ Google Scholar | |
|
Vitell, S. , Singhapakdi, A. , & Thomas, J. ( 2001). Consumer ethics: an application and empirical testing of the Hunt-Vitell theory of ethics. Journal of Consumer Marketing , 18, 153-178. Google Scholar | Crossref | |
|
Weber, J. ( 2007). Business ethics training: Insights from learning theory . Journal of Business Ethics, 70, 61-85. Google Scholar | Crossref | |
|
Weitz, B. , Castleberry, S. , & Tanner, J. ( 2001). Selling: Building partnerships (4th ed.). Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill Irwin . Google Scholar | |
|
Weitz, B. , Castleberry, S. , & Tanner, J. ( 2009). Selling: Building partnerships (7th ed.). Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill Irwin . Google Scholar | |
|
Wotruba, T. ( 1990). A comprehensive framework for the analysis of ethical behavior, with a focus on sales organizations. Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management, 10, 29-42. Google Scholar | |
|
Ziglar, Z. ( 2003). Ziglar on selling. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson. Google Scholar |
