This empirical investigation reexamines
the impact of gender on ethics judgment of marketing
professionals in a cross-section of firms in the United
States. In the study, gender differences in ethics judgment
focus on decisions in the context of marketing-mix elements (product, promotion, pricing, and distribution).
The results of statistical analyses indicate that men and
women marketing professionals differ significantly in their
ethics judgment. Overall, female marketing professionals
evinced significantly higher ethics judgment than their
male counterparts. Given the changing demographics of
corporate America, it is conceivable that ethical decisionmaking in organizations stands to improve as the ratio of
women in executive positions increases. The finding also
bodes well with the recent emphasis of moving away
from transaction-based in favor of relationship-focused
conceptualization of marketing.