Truth, Lies and Advertising

Résumé du livre

Advertising deception is an ongoing marketing problem. The current paper examines market-based causes of deceptive advertising and the moderating role played by individual ethical standards. A longitudinal study using data over a 20-year time period shows that false advertising increases when negative rather than positive market incentives exist, and when market feedback indicates increased false advertising by other firms. Contrary to common suggestion, market competition (i.e., competition intensity) did not contribute significantly to advertising deception. A series of experiments replicate these findings, and further show that market factors primarily tempt individuals with higher moral standards to engage in deceptive advertising, whereas those with lower standards are inclined to deceive regardless of market pressures. These findings have implications for recent debate about the relative roles of the psychological versus economic causes of unethical behavior, as well as for managing the problem of misleading or false advertising.