Changing Perceptions of Marketing Ethics and Social Responsibility in Principles of Marketing

The principles of marketing course usually includes coverage of marketing ethics and social responsibility. This study attempts to gain an understanding of students’ perceptions of the importance of marketing ethics and social responsibility and to see if these perceptions can be enhanced. Students were provided one class period lecture on the topics with prelecture and postlecture evaluation. The study addressed marketing ethics and social responsibility as distinct constructs. Postlecture there was an improvement in marketing ethics perceptions for all majors, with nonmarketing business majors showing the most improvement. Postlecture perceptions of the importance of social responsibility increased significantly with nonbusiness majors showing the lowest level of improvement. Changing perceptions of importance can motivate long-term engagement in beliefs about the significance and value of business ethics and social responsibility.