(openPR) Ethical lapses by managers have an adverse impact on customer purchasing behavior. This is the finding of a study by Professors Niels Van Quaquebeke, Christian Barrot, and Jan Becker from Kühne Logistics University (KLU). A company may otherwise be socially responsible and promote this fact, but its managers’ behavior has a greater influence on purchasing decisions.
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Ethical leadership is typically considered a subject for organizational management and therefore, an internal matter. But according to Professor Van Quaquebeke, this view is no longer contemporary. “Management has not been an exclusively internal phenomenon for some time now. In an era of social media, information easily circulates outward to the external world, leaving an impression there,” he said. “The lines between ‘internal’ and ‘external’ are blurring.” Employees can easily leak internal information to the outside world – regardless of whether they target the press directly or use an employee portal or social networks.
Unethical behavior leads to fewer sales
When news of unethical behavior reaches consumers, the phenomenon of self-congruence takes hold. As Professor Barrot explained it: “Consumers aspire to identify with other persons and even with brands. They want them to match their own self-image. If a consumer ceases to identify with the traits of a brand and its representatives because managers are perceived as being unethical, for example, the consumer will cease to appreciate the brand.” The customer “punishes” the company and stops purchasing its products.
“Companies must re-think their ethical behavior on all levels,” Professor Becker added. “Promising to donate to a rain forest project for each crate of beverages sold or promoting the fact that the company no longer produces so much packaging waste is no longer enough.” In their study, the researchers showed that consumer perceptions of management behavior plays a much greater role in purchasing decisions than do the company’s social responsibility activities.
New focus in management selection process
“Ethical behavior within a company is no longer ‘nice to have,’ but has a direct effect on revenue,” said Van Quaquebeke in summary. He advises companies to encourage character traits such as honesty, fairness and commitment for others in managers: “We have to reinforce their ethical backbones.” This begins at university and continues in companies’ selection and grooming of managers. “Ethical leadership begins at the top of all companies. Unfortunately, unethical leadership does too.”
Good behavior as a marketing instrument
Increased transparency and public awareness is not necessarily negative for companies. They can also use these factors to their advantage, explained Becker: “Companies that rely on ethical leadership can take advantage of a number of communication approaches. Social media in particular are ideal channels for subtle demonstrations of model leadership behavior skillfully interwoven with marketing messages.”
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About KLU
Kühne Logistics University – Wissenschaftliche Hochschule für Logistik und Unternehmensführung (KLU) is a private university located in Hamburg's HafenCity. The independent, state-certified university focuses on the areas of logistics and management. With one BSc and four MSc degree programs, a PhD program, and a part-time Executive MBA, KLU offers its 275 full-time students a high level of specialization and excellent learning conditions. In open, customized management seminar series, industry specialists and managers benefit from the application of academic findings to practical issues.
KLU has an international team of 23 professors who teach in English. The programs are oriented toward students from Germany and abroad. Research at KLU is concentrated on the Key Competence Areas of Digital Transformation, Creating Value, and Sustainability for the benefit of transportation, global logistics, and supply chain management.
The most recent Handelsblatt rankings identify KLU as one of the leading research universities in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland based on research output per professor. In the newest CHE university rankings, KLU obtained the highest ranking in all major criteria.
For more information, visit www.the-klu.org. Or follow us on Twitter: @THE_KLU.
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Weitere Informationen:
- https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-017-3577-4 The article, "Perceived Ethical Leadership Affects Customer Purchasing Intentions Beyond Ethical Marketing in Advertising Due to Moral Identity Self-Congruence Concerns", can be viewed in the pre-print section of Journal of Business Ethics.
Quelle: idw
