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How ethical are purchasing management professionals?

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Abstract

The primary purpose of this study was to assess the ethics of purchasing management professionals. A multidimensional scale of ethics was used to measure their predispositions to act morally. The ethics measure from this scale was correlated to a series of ethical vignettes specific to the purchasing function to further assess the value of the scale. In addition, the consistency of values as rationale for decision making was also examined. The findings of the study indicate that purchasing professionals appear to be more ethical than indicated in previous studies as measured by both the multidimensional scale of ethics and their responses to ethical situations similar to those faced in their day-to-day work experiences. The utility of a multidimensional scale of ethics is further validated, and some preliminary assessments of the nature of values impacting on ethical decision making are also evaluated.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Haworth College of Business, Western Michigan University, 49009, Kalamazoo, MI, USA

    Robert Landeros & Richard E. Plank

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  1. Robert Landeros
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  2. Richard E. Plank
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Additional information

Robert Landeros, is associate professor of Integrated Supply Management at the Haworth College of Business, Western Michigan University, U.S.A., and visiting associate professor of logistics at the Norwegian School of Management, Sandvika, Norway. He has researched and published in the area of interorganizational relationships.

Richard E. Plank, is associate professor of Marketing at the Haworth College of Business, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, Michigan, U.S.A. His research interests are in the areas of purchasing, personal selling, and the buyer-seller interface.

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Landeros, R., Plank, R.E. How ethical are purchasing management professionals?. J Bus Ethics 15, 789–803 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00381743

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