Business Ethics From Consumer Point Of View An Empirical Research

Although ethics was only a choice in near past, now it has become an obligation for companies due to increasing global competition, and consumers’ increasing and changing needs and expectations. Firms are developing code of ethics and corporate social responsibility policies within the corporate in order to encourage such behaviors. Ethics and corporate social responsibility approaches help firms to improve relationship of firms with its micro and macro environment. As an important player of this environment, consumers aside from satisfying needs, they expect from businesses to be socially responsible and, develop and implement code of ethics and morals in all business activities. As a result of rapid globalization and technological developments today’s consumers are more informed about their environment. Thus, beside core benefits of products they expect from products and firms to contribute well-being of society and encourage sustainable development. There have been in large number of researches in literature about ethics and corporate social responsibility. On the other hand in the literature, as well as number of researches on ethics and corporate social responsibility in the field marketing, and consumer behavior is few, mostly studies have been made on marketing and marketers ethics, and consumer ethics. Hovewer, there are too few researches that addresses business ethics from consumers point of view. In this study business ethic from consumer perspective, in other words effect of business ethics on consumers’ perceptions will be examined. In this regard, main objective of study is’’ Analyzing the university students’ perception degree of firms’ business ethic activities in food industry’’. Within this framework in the study ’’business ethics expectation dimension’’ and “business ethics importance dimesnsion’’ are evaluated from consumer point of view. Furthermore, relationship between two dimensions is explained and consumers’ tendency of punishing and rewarding businesses is argued. Besides that, consumers’ thoughts and buying decisions regarding ethical and nonethical businesses are examined in the study.