Accounting & Marketing

Marketing Ethics Practices of Small Businesses and their Effect on Consumer Purchase Intention: An Empirical Investigation from Addis Ketema Sub-city

Abstract

Abdulnasir AM*

Marketing ethics is the subset of business ethics, which deals with the systematic study of how moral standards are applied to marketing decisions, behaviors and institutions. Within the marketing ethics field, the presumption of the unit of analysis as a large firm has always been the norm. In recent years, however, recognition that this narrow approach is in appropriate has been rising. This paper also investigates marketing ethics practices of small business firms, in Addis Ketema sub city and their effect on consumers’ purchase intention. In order to do so, the researcher first collected data from consumers and used both qualitative and quantitative type of research to know the effect of unethical marketing practice of cloth shops on consumers purchase intention. In the process of collecting data, the researcher took 291 small sized cloth shop consumers using a Time Location sampling technique. After data collection, it was analyzed using descriptive statistics techniques, like tables and percentages, mean, standard deviations, graphs, frequency and logistic regression (inferential statistics). The result of this study showed that small sized cloth shops in Addis Ketema sub-city exhibit unethical marketing practice in the area of product and price ethics. Additionally, it was found that consumers have purchase intention even if firms’ behavior was found to be unethical. Finally, the researcher concluded that the unethical practice of marketers may lead to consumers’ lack of confidence in the market and recommended awareness programs, strengthening consumer protection act as well as establishment of consumer associations in the area.