Skip to main content
Log in

Agency Practitioners' Perceptions of Professional Ethics in Taiwan

  • Published:
Journal of Business Ethics Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

A survey was conducted on the advertising practitioners in Taiwan concerning their experiences of ethical challenges at work. Among 120 respondents, while 32.5 percent responded that ethical problems did not exist, 67.5 percent admitted that ethical problem was a commonplace at work. According to these respondents, the most frequently mentioned ethical problems area representing unethical products or services, the message of advertisements, agency-client relationship, the creditability of research, undertable rebate, and the quality of service. Suggestions for international advertising managers were also provided by comparing the finding from the present study with earlier studies in the United States. However, due to its preliminary nature, the present study should be considered exploratory and descriptive rather than conclusive, with the hope to inspire more research on advertising ethics in Taiwan as well as in other countries in the world.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Aaker, D. and G. Day: 1982, ‘Introduction’, in D. Aaker and G. Day (eds.), Consumerism: Search for the Consumer Interest(Free Press, New York), pp. 2–22.

    Google Scholar 

  • American Advertising Federation: 1984, The Advertising Principles of American Business, March 2, San Antonio, Texas.

  • Bol, J. W., C. T. Crespy, S. Dunn, J. M. Steams and J. R. Walton: 1993, Marketing Ethics: A Selected, Annotated Bibliography of Selected Articles(American Marketing Association, IL).

    Google Scholar 

  • Bullard, J. H. and W. E. Snizek: 1988, ‘Factors Affecting the Acceptability of Advertisements Among Professionals’, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science 16, 57–63.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bush, A. J.: 1994, ‘The Narrative Paradigm as a Perspective for Improving Ethical Evaluations of Advertisements’, Journal of Advertising 23, 31–42.

    Google Scholar 

  • Calkins, E. E.: 1930, ‘The Ethics of Agency Practice, Ethical Problems of Modern Advertising’, in W. A. Cawter (ed.), Foundation on Business Ethics(The Ronald Press, New York), pp. 54–79.

    Google Scholar 

  • Christians, C. G., K. M. Rotzoll and M. Fackler: 1991, Media Ethics: Cases and Moral Reasoning, 3rd edn. (Longman, New York).

    Google Scholar 

  • Churchill, L. R.: 1982, ‘The Teaching of Ethics and Moral Values in Teaching: Some Contempoary Confusions’, Journal of Higher Education 53, 296–306.

    Google Scholar 

  • Clark, E.: 1989, The Want Markers - The World of Advertising and How They Make You Buy(Viking, New York).

    Google Scholar 

  • Coe, T. L. and B. Coe: 1976, ‘Marketing Research: The Search of Professionalism’, in K. L. Bernhardt (ed.), Marketing: 1776–1976 and Beyond(American Marketing Association, IL), pp. 257–259.

    Google Scholar 

  • Crisp, R.: 1987, ‘Persuasive Advertising, Autonomy, and the Creation of Desire’, Journal of Business Ethics 6, 413–418.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ewen, S.: 1988, All Consuming Images: The Politics of Style in Contemporary Culture(Basic Books, New York).

    Google Scholar 

  • Ferrell, O. C., L. Gresham and J. Fraedrich: 1989,’ A Synthesis of Ethical Decision Models for Marketing’, Journal of Macromarketing 9, 55–64.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fraedrich, J., O. C. Ferrell and W. Pride: 1989, ‘An Empirical Examination of Three Machiavellian Concepts: Advertisers vs. the General Public’, Journal of Business Ethics 8, 687–694.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hunt, S. D. and L. B. Chonko: 1987, ‘Ethical Problems of Marketing Researchers’ Journal of Marketing Research 21, 309–324.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hunt, S. and S. Vitell: 1986, A Genral Theory of Marketing Ethics', Journal of Macromarketing 6, 5–16.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hyman, M. and R. Tansey: 1990, ‘The Ethics of Psychoactive Ads’, Journal of Business Ethics 9, 105–114.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hyman, M. R., R. Tansey and J. W. Clark: 1994, ‘Research on Advertising Ethics: Past, Present, and Future’, Journal of Advertising 23, 5–15.

    Google Scholar 

  • Krugman, D. M. and O. C. Ferrell: 1981, ‘The Organizational Ethics of Advertising: Corporate and Agency Views’, Journal of Advertising 10, 21–48.

    Google Scholar 

  • LaTour, M. S. and T. L. Henthorne: 1994, ‘Ethical Judgments of Sexual Appeals in Print Advertising’, Journal of Advertising 23, 81–90.

    Google Scholar 

  • LaTour, M. S. and S. A. Zahra: 1989, ‘Fear Appeals as Advertising Strategoy: Should They Be Used?’, Journal of Consumer Marketing 6, 61–70.

    Google Scholar 

  • Leiser, B. M.: 1978, ‘The Ethics of Advertising’, in R. T. Gorge and J. A. Pichler (eds.), Ethics, Free Enterprise, and Public Policy(Oxford University Press, New York).

    Google Scholar 

  • Liu, P., S. Huang, S. Wang, I. Chun, W. A. Chen and W. Kuo: 1992, Advertising(National Open University Press, Taipei).

    Google Scholar 

  • Mooij, M. and W. Keegan: 1991, Advertising Worldwide (Prentice Hall, U.K.).

    Google Scholar 

  • Pollay, R.: 1986, ‘The Distorted Mirror: Reflections on the Unintended Consequences of Advertising’, Journal of Marketing 50, 18–36.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rotzoll, K. B. and C. B. Christians: 1980, ‘Advertising Agency Practitioners' Perceptgions of Ethical Decisions’, Journalism Quarterly 57, 425–431.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rotzoll, K. B., J. E. Haefner and C. H. Sandage: 1990: Advertising in Contemporary Society(South-Western Publishing, Ohio).

    Google Scholar 

  • Stafford, D. C.: 1988, ‘Advertising in the Professions: A Review of the Literature’, International Journal of Advertising 7, 189–220.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stankey, M. J.: 1989, Ethics, ‘Professionalism, and Advertising’, in R. Hovland and G. B. Wilcox (eds.), Advertising in Society(NTC Business Books, IL), pp. 419–436.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tansey, R., M. R. Hyman and G. Brown: 1992,’ Ethical Judgments About Wartime Ads Depicting Combat’, Journal of Advertising 21, 57–74.

    Google Scholar 

  • Taylor, P. W.: 1975, Principles of Ethics: An Introduction (Dickenson Publishing, CA).

    Google Scholar 

  • Tinkham, S. F. and R. A. Weaver-Lariscy: 1994, ‘Ethical Judgments of Political Television Commercials as Predictors of Attitude Toward the Ad.’, Journal of Advertising 23, 43–57.

    Google Scholar 

  • Thompson, B. L.: 1990, ‘Ethic Training Enters the Real World’, Training 27, 82–97.

    Google Scholar 

  • Treise, D.: 1994, ‘Ethics in Advertising: Ideological Correlates of Consumer Perceptions’, Journal of Advertising 23, 59–70.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wines, W. A. and Napier N. K.: 1992, ‘Toward an Understanding of Cross-cultural Ethics: A Tentative Model’, Journal of Business Ethics 11, 831–841.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zinkham, G. M.: 1994, ‘Advertising Ethics: Emerging Methods and Tends’, Journal of Advertising 23, 1–4.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Authors

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Chen, A.W., Liu, J.MC. Agency Practitioners' Perceptions of Professional Ethics in Taiwan. Journal of Business Ethics 17, 15–23 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1005773418832

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1005773418832

Keywords

Navigation