Abstract
In recent years, there has been increased awareness of unethical consumer practices in Asian countries. Asian consumers have gained a bad reputation for buying counterfeit products, such as computer software, fashion clothing and watches. In 1993, the estimated losses to US software companies due to Chinese counterfeiting stood at US $322 million (Kohut, 1994). The present study uses a consumer ethics scale developed by Muncy and Vitell (1992) to investigate consumers' ethical judgments from a Chinese perspective. The result shows that consumers in different cultures utilize similar rules to assess the ethicality of a given situation. However, findings also show certain cultural elements that are unique in influencing Chinese consumers' ethical judgments. The results also indicate the need for the continued development of and investment in consumer education in Asia.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Antil, J. H.: 1984, ‘Social Responsibility Consumers: Profile and Implications for Public Policy’, Journal of Macro-Marketing 4(Fall), 18–39.
Barnett, H. and M. J. Karson: 1987, ‘Personal Values and Business Decisions: An Exploratory Investigation’, Journal of Business Ethics 6, 371–382.
Chung, W.: 1994, ‘Rise of the Pirate Bloodsuckers’, South China Morning Post, 15 March, 17(Business).
Cole, C.: 1989, ‘Deterrence and Consumer Fraud’, Journal of Retailing 65(Spring), 107–120.
Cox, D., A. D. Cox and G. P. Mists: 1990, ‘When Consumer Behavior Goes Bad: An Investigation of Adolescent Shoplifting’, Journal of Consumer Research 17(September), 149–159.
Forsyth, D. R.: 1980, ‘A Taxonomy of Ethical Ideologies’, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 39(1), 175–184.
Hair, J. Jr., R. E. Anderson, R. L. Tatham and W. C. Black: 1995, Multivariate Data Analysis with Readings(Prentice Hall, Inc., Englewood Cliffs, NJ), pp. 375–377.
Hofstede, G.: 1980, Culture's Consequences: National Differences in Thinking and Organizing(Sage Press, Beverly Hills, CA).
Kallis, M. J., K. A. Krentier and D. J. Vanier: 1986, ‘The Value of User Image in Quelling Aberrant Consumer Behavior’, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science 14, 29–35.
Kohut, J.: 1994, ‘Pirates in a Chinese Paradise’, South China Morning Post, 22 February, 19(Business).
Lascu, D. N.: 1993, ‘Assessing Consumer Ethics: Scale Development Considerations for International Marketing’, in Proceedings, AMA Winter Educators' Conference, American Marketing Association, 57–61.
McDonald, G. M. and R. A. Zepp: 1988, ‘Ethical Perceptions of Hong Kong Chinese Business Managers’, Journal of Business Ethics 7, 835–845.
Muncy, J. A. and S. J., Vitell: 1992, ‘Consumer Ethics: An Investigation of the Ethical Beliefs of the Final Consumer’, Journal of Business Research 24, 297–311.
Rallapalli, K. C., S. J. Vitell, F. A. Wiebe and J. H. Barnes: 1994, ‘Consumer Ethical Beliefs and Personality Traits: An Exploratory Analysis’, Journal of Business Ethics 13, 487–495.
Rawwas, M., S. J. Vitell, and J. A. Al-Khatib: 1994, ‘Consumer Ethics: The Possible Effects of Terrorism and Civil Unrest on the Ethical Values of Consumers’, Journal of Business Ethics 13, 223–231.
Vitell, S. J., J. R. Lumpkin and M. Y. A. Rawwas: 1991, ‘Consumer Ethics: An Investigation of Ethical Beliefs of Elderly Consumers’, Journal of Business Ethics 10, 365–375.
Vitell, S. J. and J. Muncy: 1992, ‘Consumer Ethics: An Empirical Investigation of Factors Influencing Ethical Judgments of the Final Consumer’, Journal of Business Ethics 11, 585–597.
Wilkes, R. E.: 1978, ‘Fraudulent Behavior by Consumers’, Journal of Marketing(October), 67–75.
Yau, O. H. M.: 1988, ‘Chinese Cultural Values: Their Dimensions and Marketing Implications’, European Journal of Marketing 22(5), 44–56.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Chan, A., Wong, S. & Leung, P. Ethical Beliefs of Chinese Consumers in Hong Kong. Journal of Business Ethics 17, 1163–1170 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1005760729697
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1005760729697