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Ethically Questionable Behavior in Sales Representatives – An Example from the Taiwanese Pharmaceutical Industry

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Abstract

Recent corporate disgraces and corruption have heightened concerns about ethically questionable behavior in business. The construct of ethically questionable behavior is an under-portrayed area of management field research, and deserves further studying, especially in sales positions. This study uses four variables from the human resource management field to explain the ethically questionable behavior of sales representatives in the pharmaceutical industry. These variables include frame pattern, commission structure, behavior control type, and marketing norm perceptions. This work uses a 2*2*2*2 subject experimental design, and 328 fully completed questionnaires for logistic regression analysis. Results suggest that a medical representative in a loss frame (compared with a gain frame), in a high commission structure (compared with a low commission structure), in loose behavior control (compared with strict behavior control), and in a low perception of marketing norm (compared with a high perception of marketing norm), is more likely affected by heuristic biases and make an ethically questionable choice.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Business Administration, Ming Chuan University, 11F, No. 318, Fuhe Road, Yonghe City, Taipei, 234, Taiwan

    Ya-Hui Hsu

  2. Department of Business Administration, National Taipei University, 69, Sec 2, Jian-Kuo N. Road, Taipei, 104, Taiwan

    Wenchang Fang

  3. Department of Business Administration, National Taipei University, 9F, 4, Ming-Chuan E. Road, Sec 3, Taipei, 104, Taiwan

    Yuanchung Lee

Authors
  1. Ya-Hui Hsu
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  2. Wenchang Fang
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  3. Yuanchung Lee
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Correspondence to Ya-Hui Hsu.

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Hsu, YH., Fang, W. & Lee, Y. Ethically Questionable Behavior in Sales Representatives – An Example from the Taiwanese Pharmaceutical Industry. J Bus Ethics 88 (Suppl 1), 155–166 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-008-9823-z

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