Cognitive Moral Development and Marketing

Abstract

Many academic disciplines are approaching the study of ethics from a cognitive orientation by exploring the moral reasoning processes individuals use to make ethical judgments. The authors empirically examine a rich theoretical concept with an extensive research-based literature, cognitive moral development or CMD, as it relates to professional marketing. Controlling for similar educational background, they find that (1) professional marketing practitioners compare favorably with other social groups, (2) marketers scoring high on CMD tend to be female and highly educated, and (3) marketers with advanced moral reasoning properties tend to have socially responsible attitudes and behaviors. Implications for marketing theory, education, and practice are discussed.