An Exploratory Study of the Role of Neutralization on Ethical Intentions Among Salespeople

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to propose and test a model suggesting that the relationship between antecedent variables (role ambiguity, organizational commitment, relationship orientation) and salesperson ethical intentions will be mediated by a “neutralization” construct. Neutralization techniques are defined as a means for individuals to justify potential behavior that is incongruent with (their own and society’s) moral and ethical code. A sample of 157 industrial salespeople was obtained and the results were analyzed by a structural equation path model. The results suggest that salespeople will use neutralization techniques to justify their ethical intention when they exhibit lower levels of organizational commitment, higher levels of role ambiguity, and lower levels of relationship orientation. These results were more prominent in a business-to-consumer selling environment. This research contributes to the sales literature since exploring ethical neutralizations as a mediator between situational/personal antecedents and salesperson ethical intention as an outcome has yet to be studied in the professional sales domain. Implications for both sales research and sales managers are discussed.