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| − | Can be advertising the ultimate method to inform that help us inside our everyday decision-making or even is it just an excessively powerful form of mass deception utilized by companies to convince their prospects and buyers to buy goods and services they just do not require? Consumers within the global village are exposed to increasing availablility of advertisement messages and spending for advertisements will be increasing consequently.
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| − | It will not be exaggerated if we conclude that we are 'soaked with this cultural rain of marketing communications' through TV, press, movie theater, Internet, and so on (Hackley and Home, 1999). But once thirty years ago the marketing communication tools were used mainly to be a product-centered tactical signifies, now the discount mix, and in particular the promotion is focused on signals and semiotics. A number of argue that the actual marketers' efforts eventually are generally "turning the economy right into symbol in order that it means a thing towards the consumer" (Williamson, offered in Anonymous, Marketing and sales communications, 06\: 569). Just one critical consequence is the fact lots of the contemporary advertisements "are selling all of us ourselves" (ibid. )
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| − | The particular abovementioned process is influenced by the commoditisation of goods and blurring associated with consumer's own perceptions in the companies' offering. So as to differentiate and also position their products and services today's businesses make use of advertising which is sometimes considered not only of bad taste, but in addition as deliberately invasive and manipulative. The issue of bad marketing and advertising is topical to these kinds of extent that organisations such as Adbusters have embraced the particular tactics of subvertising help revealing the real plan behind the modern marketing and advertising. The Adbusters publication editor-in-chief Kalle Lason left a comment on the corporate photograph building communication activities in the big companies: "We know that oil companies aren't really friendly to mother nature, and tobacco firms don't really love ethics" (Arnold, 2001). On the other hand, the "ethics and social duty are important determinants of such long-term gains simply because survival, long-term profitability, and competitiveness in the organization" (Singhapakdi, 1999). Devoid of communications strategy that involves ethics and sociable responsibility the concepts of total quality and buyer relationships building become hard-to-find. However , there could be no effortless clear-cut ethics formula of marketing communications.
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| − | MARKETING - PRESCIOUS INFORMATION OR PERHAPS VICIOUS TREATMENT?
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| − | To get ideas into the consumer belief about the role associated with advertising we have analyzed a number of content articles and conducted four specific interviews. Numerous research papers reach opposed ideas. These change from the ones proclaiming that "the ethicality of any firm's actions are an important concern during the order decision" and that customers "will reward ethical actions by a willingness to be charged for higher prices with the firm's product" (Creyer and Ross Jr., 1997) to others stressing in which "although consumers may share a desire to support ethical companies, along with punish unethical corporations, their actual invest in behaviour often remains unaffected by ethical concerns" and this "price, high quality and value outweigh moral criteria in consumer obtain behaviour" (Carrigan and also Attalla, 2001). Focusing on the advertising as the utmost prominent advertising communication tool we now have constructed and conducted an interview including four themes as well as nine questions. Typically the conceptual frame on this paper is built on these 4 themes.
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| − | STYLE I. The actual Ethics in Advertising and marketing The first look comprises two introductory thoughts about the ethics within advertising generally.
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| − | I. A. How would you define typically the ethics in marketing?
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| − | The word ethics in operation will involve "morality, organisational integrity and professional deontology" (Isaac, reported throughout Bergadaa', 2007). Just about every industry has its guidelines for your ethical specifications. However , the key four requirements intended for marketing communications should be legitimate, decent, trustworthy and truthful. Sad to say, in a community where the operation on the companies depends on profit goals the use of marketing and sales communications messages "may constitute a form of friendly pollution through the possibly damaging and unintended consequences it may have in consumer choice making" (Hackley and Kitchen, 1999).
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| − | One of the interviewed respondents stated that "the the majority of successful companies do no need ethics inside their activities simply because they have built autorit. " Another see is that "sooner or even later whoever is not ethical will face the negative implications. " I just. B. What is their perception in the importance of values in promoting?
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| − | The next question is about the importance of being moral when communicating with/to your target audiences as well as the way consumers/customers view it. In various research papers we have found quite opposing conclusions. Ethics regarding business is apparently evaluated either as very important within the decision making method or as not really a serious factor in this procedure. Among the rather intense stance is the fact that "disaster awaits any kind of brand that functions cynically" (Odell, 2007).
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| − | Given that obvious that the responsibility ought to be carried from the advertiser due to the fact "his is the key responsibility to keep advertising spending decent" (Bernstein, 1951). Alternatively the companies' actions are described by the "the pice of social responsibility as well as superior taste" (ibid. ). Among the interviewees said:
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| − | "The simply responsible for giving respectable advertising is the one who profits towards the end. Carrier's profits really should not be at the expense of society. " Another stated which "our culture as well as the level of societal awareness determine the favorable and bad inside advertising".
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| − | Typically the increased importance of marketing and sales communications ethics is certainly underscored by the will need of applying even more dialogical, two-way marketing communications approaches. The particular "demassification technologies potentially have to help dialogue", but the "monologic" attitude continues to be the predominant one (Botan, 1997). Arnold (2001) highlights the cases of Monsanto and Esso that had to compensate "a price due to the [theirs] one-way communications strategy". In such a train of believed we may review integrity in advertisements from 2 different perspectives as advised by our respondents and various points of observe in the reviewed paperwork. The first one is that it is essential to have one well-known code of ethics made by the rules. The other states the independence and responsibility of every industry with regard to setting its own specifications.
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| − | THEME 2. Which type regarding regulation should be the leading one out of the field associated with advertising?
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| − | Another theme directs the interest towards the regulations system that ought to be the main one. Widely accepted opinion is that both self control and legal controls really should work in synergy. Basically the regulations of practice were made to complement typically the laws. However , in certain nations around the world there are stronger lawful controls over the promotion, e. h. with Scandinavia. However the actual industry's self regulation can be preferred inside the Anglo-Saxon community. Still, not really everyone agrees with typically the laissez-faire notion.
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| − | One of our respondents mentioned:
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| − | "I believe that governments should impose stricter legal frame and harsher punishment for companies that do not effectively abide by legislation. inch As you can imagine, the particular social acceptability varies from one culture/country to a different. At the end of the day "good preference or bad is largely a matter of enough time, the area, and also the individual" (Bernstein, 1951). It might be also very likely impossible to set facile, undemanding, easy, basic, simple detailed rules in the era of Internet and interactive TELEVISION SET. Therefore , the two types of regulation should be applied along with the ultimate aim of reaching balance between the sacred right of freedom of choice and also the precise product information and minimizing possible widespread offence. Put differently, the objective is synchronising typically the "different ethical frameworks" of marketers and "others in society" so that you can fill typically the "ethics gap" (Hunt as well as Vitell, 2006).
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| − | SUBJECT III. Content of Advertisements.
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| − | In the most controversial issue in the field of marketing communications may be the content of ads. Nwachukwu et 's. (1997) distinguish several areas of affinity for terms of honest judgment of ads: "individual autonomy, client sovereignty, and the nature from the product". The person autonomy is concerned with advertising to children. Buyer sovereignty deals with the degree of knowledge and sophistication of the customers whereas the advertisements for harmful products are in the middle of common opinion for a long period. We have added two more perspectives to realize five questions in the conducted interviews. The first one concerns similar that imply good sense of guilt and compliment affluence that inside the most cases should not be achieved and also the second you are about advertisements revitalizing desire and satisfaction by means of acquisition of material goods.
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| − | III. A. What is your attitude into advertisement of damaging products?
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| − | A typical example is a advertisement of cigarettes. Nowadays most of us cannot see slogans like "Camel Agrees with Your Throat" (Chickenhead, connected 25th September 2007) or perhaps "Chesterfield - Packs Even more Pleasure - Because It's More Perfectly Bundled! " (Chickenhead, accessed 25th September 2007). The overall advertisement, support and other marketing communications means were prohibited to be used by e cigarette producers. Interestingly, most of the answers of the respondents are not against the smoking cigarettes advertisement. Among the respondents mentioned:
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| − | "People are very well informed concerning the consequences of smoking cigarettes so it is a matter of personal option. " As with many other modern day products the shift within communications messages for cigarettes is oriented towards sign and image making. The same can be stated for any alcohol advertisements. A well-known sort of emotional advertising stands out as the Absolut Vodka campaign. From Absolut Nectar, through Absolut Illusion to Absolut World the actual Swedish drink actually should be Fuldkommen... The whole thing.
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| − | Advertising associated with hazardous products is even more harshly criticised if it is aimed at audiences with minimal individual autonomy, i just. e. youngsters. Two main issues in this respect are definitely the manipulation of any nicotine products and alcohol simply because "the transitional phase directly into adulthood" and the proven fact that "sales of health-hazardous goods (alcohol, cigarettes) produce freely with little disapproval" (Bergadaa, 2007).
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| − | III. B. What is their attitude towards the advertisement to children?
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| − | Youngsters are not only buyers, but also customers, influencers and customers in the loved ones Decision-Making Device (DMU). Additional difficulties is that they are very impressionable to get deciders in the DMU. At the same time not necessarily a mystery that marketers implement "the same basic technique of trying to sell the parent through the kid's insistence to the purchase" (Bernstein, 1951). It isn't pleasantly surprised then that will "spending on advertising for children has increased five-fold within the last 10 years and 2/3 of commercials during child television programs tend to be for food items products" (Bergadaa 2007). In the US alone kids represent a direct acquisitions market of $24 billion worth (McNeal cited in Bergadaa, 2007) that certainly is topping the agendas of many companies. While exploiting kids decision-making immaturity advertisers quite often go too far in dematerialising their products and "teleporting children out of the tangible as well as into the virtual world of make names" (Bergadaa 2007). Teen virtual worlds such as Habbo where snack food brands run promotional initiatives are already a fact of existence (Goldie, 2007). The particular imaginative worlds are well-liked not only over the internet. Hugely successful for creating a fantasy earth can be Mc Donald's. The corporation tops the European list of kids' marketers while over fifty percent of the children's adverts can be for processed foods.
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| − | In certain countries you can find harsher restrictions to the children marketing and advertising.
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| − | "Sweden along with Norway do not licenses any television advertising to become directed towards young children under 12 with no adverts by any means are allowed during children's programmes.
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| − | Australia would not allow advertisements during programmes for pre-school young children.
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| − | Austria does not permit advertising during children's programmes, and the Flemish region of Belgium no promoting is permitted 5 minutes before or after programmes for youngsters.
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| − | Sponsorship of children's programmes is not really permitted within Denmark, Finland, Norwegian and Sweden whilst in Germany as well as the Netherlands, even though it is granted, it isn't employed in practice. inch (McSpotlight, accessed 20th Sept 2007).
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| − | According to a research by Roberts and Pettigrew (2007) essentially the most frequent themes within children advertising will be "grazing, the actual denigration of core food items, exaggerated health statements, and the implied ability of particular foods to enhance reputation, performance and feelings. " Nevertheless the junk food is not the only cause for parents' preoccupation. In accordance with a study associated with Kaiser Family Floor (Dolliver, 2007) parents are concerned about the quantity of advertising from the following items (in order of importance): gadgets, games, clothes, alcohol/beer, videos, etc .
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| − | The evaluated respondents had been unanimous: "The advertising and marketing to children needs to be strictly supervised. " Similar outcome was obtained in surveys by Rasmussen Reports and also Kaiser Family Starting. Nevertheless, typically the legal means are only one part of the children's coverage. The other portion involves "the decision-making responsibility of parents along with teachers" which is "to assist youngsters in creating a skeptical attitude to the information with advertising" (Bergadaa 2007). The marketers themselves also needs to be involved with shaping the moral system of our future and "each brand really should have its very own deontology - some sort of code of practice on the subject of children - rather than rely on field codes" (Horgan, 2007).
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| − | III. C. Do you think there are various misleading, exaggerating and confusing advertisements. Are numerous ads promising stuffs that are not doable to achieve?
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| − | Additionally high to state that marketing is in a sense "salesmanship addressed to be able to masses of audience rather than to 1 buyer at the time" (Bernstein, 1951). Considering that "salesmanship itself is definitely persuasion" (ibid. ) we cannot merely blame marketers for pursuing their sales goals. But in the last twenty years or so marketers have increasingly utilized semiotics in their communications and as a consequence ads have commenced to function an increasing number of as symbols. One extreme case in this stream regarding advertising is the generation of idealised image of your person who uses the advertised product or service. Bishop (2000) comes our attention to a couple of "typical representatives regarding self-identity image ads" which entice consumers to project the respective images to be able to themselves through technique items:
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| − | -- "The Lovely Woman";
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| − | help "The Sexy Young people.
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| − | Through arranging of such stereotypes marketers not only mislead the public and exaggerate the consequence of products but also provoke low self-esteem in consumers. Concurrently these people promise results that in many instances are merely unachievable. As opposed to marketing "'glamorous' anorexic body images" communication messages should use "varied physical structure types" and should drop the idea of the particular "impossible physical figure images" (Bishop, 2000).
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| − | To question III. C one of the participants commented:
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| − | "The customers of these goods [the ones advertised through thin models] are mostly those who are deprived of the exact same physical characteristic. Personally, this sort of advertising is deliberately aimed at people to make them feel not total, far from fascinating social outsiders. inch However , one more interviewed stated that: "every person provides his own means of evaluating what exactly is believable and is misleading. Consumers are sufficient sophisticated to know what exactly is exaggerated. inch Similarly, Bishop (2000) concludes that "image ads are certainly not false or even misleading", as well as "whether or not that they advocate false values is mostly a matter for subjective reflection. " The writer argues that photograph ads do not affect our internal autonomy and if individuals are misled, it is because they demand it. It can be all about our free choice of behaviour and no advertisement can modify our necessities. Perhaps, fact lies somewhere hidden inside the two extreme placements.
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| − | III. D. What is their attitude toward advertisement that imply feeling of guilt, along with praise affluence that in the most cases should not be attained?
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| − | An increasingly specific case of controversial advertising is definitely the one accustomed to "promote not so much self indulgence as own doubt"; one which "seeks to create needs, not to fulfill all of them: to generate fresh anxieties rather than allaying aged ones" (Hackley and Kitchen area, 1999). A response of your interviewee states:
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| − | "It is not just a matter of promoting. It needs to do while using the social inequality and also the desire to possess what you is not able to. inch Hackley and Home (1999) refer to this discrepancy with regards to "when reality does not match the image of affluence and the result is known as a subjective feeling of dissonance". The matter could be developed further through the subsequent question.
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| − | 3. E. Usually are advertisements stimulating desire and satisfaction through acquisition of material goods sittlichkeit?
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| − | We live in a society which can be basically marked through materialism. Advertisements tend to be blamed to gasoline or diesel consumption which is apparently leading to pleasure. The role regarding promoting satisfaction through purchase of material goods is now so important that will currently the "media tools are characterised by simply relativism, irony, self referentiality and also hedonism" (Hackley and Cooking area, 1999). Could be the popular stating "those who die with most toys win" a real motivator in customers' behavior and could usage be the cure associated with emotional dissonance? This specific seems to be the situation provided your own brand succeeds to enter inside the evoked group of consumer alternatives. The brand new "kind associated with materialism" goes together along with "the emergence of individualism via sheer hedonism along with narcissism and selfishness" (Bergadaa 2007).
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| − | IDEA IV. May be the quantity of ads justified?
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| − | 4. A. Do you consider there is too much advertising?
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| − | An audit of food advertising aimed towards children nationwide by Roberts as well as Pettigrew (2007) says "28. some hours of children's tv programming sampled included 950 advertisements. inch Actually, we all are being swamped by ads on TV, Web, print mass media, etc . The total amount and content of marketing communications messages applies the consumer's information the processor to a check. The exposure to marketing data overload often triggers diluted consumer's selective perception. Whether our responses are circumscribed simply by "confusion, existential hopelessness, and loss of moral identity" or even we "adapt constructively for the [communications] Leviathan and become intelligent, cynical, streetwise" (Hackley along with Kitchen, 1999) is one of the questions offered to controversy.
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| − | Two reverse streams of attitudes had been produced in our study. One stance is concerned with the undue quantity of advertisements. The other steady stream proclaims that "If there is an advertising campaign, therefore it is justified by the need. inches We agree that the communications overload may well indeed have "pervasive impact on the public ecology of the developed world" (Hackley and Kitchen, 1999). When the increasing communication polluting of the environment is not managed effectively by both legal as well as industry points of viewpoint yet again the advertising and marketing will manage "to hoist its foot to its mouth and punch out multiple its very own front side teeth" (Bernstein, 1951).
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| − | IN SUM In preparation of the paper we have used qualitative depth interviews in order to get insights for what actual consumers opine. We have also substantiated each of our presentation with references into a number of influential articles within the education integrity in marketing and sales communications. Generally, our respondents as well as various experts have taken two opposition stances. The first affirms which ethics in marketing and sales communications matters significantly, whereas one other one downsizes the importance of values, thereby stressing typically the role of elements in buyer decision-making, we. e. value, brand dedication, convenience, etc .
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| − | Marketers must understand their "responsibility to the emerging portrait regarding forthcoming society" (Bergadaa 2007). Not merely we have a need regarding legal ethical frame but also professional ethical benchmarks and deontology must be in position. One of the primary strains is to avoid generating "a happy customer inside the brief term", simply because "in the long run both customer and society can experience as a primary result of the actual marketer's actions with 'satisfying' the particular consumer" (Carrigan as well as Attalla, 2001).
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| − | The effectiveness of similar influence exerted upon consumers is only a single part of the formula. On the other hand we might affirm that individuals are not morally submissive, obedient, compliant, acquiescent, docile and based on the information method models we have a natural intellectual defense. The sales and marketing communications tools "offer us any theatre of our private imagination" (Hackley and Kitchen area, 1999). For that reason, we accept the regarding our own experiences. In this particular sense marketers tend not to create reality - they are simply a mirror from the society. Organic beef argue that however this is not at all times the truth.
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| − | Marketing and advertising is often deservedly known as the embodiment of consumer freedom and choice. Notwithstanding this important role, if the choice is "between one candy bar and another, the latest savoury snack or sweetened morning meal cereal or take out restaurant" (McSpotlight, utilized 20th September 2007) this represents anything else but is not an alternative and also certainly not a good one particular.
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| − | The words of Fossiles harz (1951), said fifty-six years ago are still very much a question of present fascination: "It is simply not true that when we 'save advertising and marketing, we save just about all, ' but it seems reasonable to be able to assume that whenever we do not conserve advertising, we may lose just about all. " Private (2006). Module Guide 6, Marketing Communications, University associated with Leicester.
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| − | Arnold, Meters. (2001). Jogging the Ethical Tightrope (Marketing Corporate Social Responsibility), Marketing and advertising, 7/12/1001, p. 17.
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| − | Bergadaa M. (2007). Kids and Business: Pluralistic Ethics regarding Marketers, Society as well as Business Review, Vol. 2, Number just one, pp. 53-73.
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| − | Fossiles harz, S. Ur. (1951). Wonderful Taste in Promoting, Harvard Business Overview, Vol. 29, No . 3, pp. 42-50.
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| − | Bishop, M. N. (2000). Is usually Self-Identity Image Advertising Ethical?, Business Ethics Quarterly, Vol. 10, No . a couple of, pp. 371-398.
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| − | Botan, M. (1997). Integrity in Strategic Communication Plans: The Case for your New Method Public Relations, Journal regarding Business Communication, Volume. 34, No . 2, pp. 188-202.
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| − | Carrigan, Meters. and Attalla, Some sort of. (2001). The Myth of the Ethical Consumer - Do Integrity Matter in Purchase Behavior?, Journal regarding Consumer Marketing, Volume. 18, Number six, pp. 560-577.
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