This investigation uses a simulated business-to-business sales context to examine five individual moral philosophies (true altruists, true egoists, realistic altruists, tit-for-tats, and realistic egoists). The simulation is based on the Iterative Prisoner’s Dilemma and its associated payoffs, employing computer-generated sales agents that represent different companies and industries. The agents were selected randomly across 1,000 rounds, and interacted with exchange partners according to the moral philosophies noted. In some cases, various corporate cultures were added to determine their impact on the evolution and final mix of philosophical orientations of agents within firms. Simulation results indicate the importance of ethical behavior on the long-term financial success of companies as well as the larger industries in which they participate.
Article
A simulation of moral behavior within marketing exchange relationships.
USF St. Petersburg campus Faculty Publications
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2007
Disciplines
Abstract
Language
en_US
Publisher
Springer
Creative Commons License
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0
Citation Information
Hill, R.P. & Watkins, A. (2007). A simulation of moral behavior within marketing exchange relationships. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 35, 417-429. doi:10.1007/s11747-007-0025-5
Citation only. Full-text article is available through licensed access provided by the publisher. Members of the USF System may access the full-text of the article through the authenticated link provided.