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BUSINESS ETHICS QUARTERLY

Marketing Ethics, by George G. Brenkert. IVIalden, Mass.: Blackwell Publishing, 2008. Hardcover, xii + 256 pages. ISBN 9780631214229.

Thomas A. Klein and Joan M. Phillips

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rofessor Brenkert, who is a moral philosopher, albeit applied, begins this book by admitting the limitations of moral philosophy in guiding ethical action in marketing. Those of us who attempt to bring the light of moral reasoning to students and executives whose eyes glaze at the mention of deontology or social contract theory are well advised to take notice. This review also provides an opportunity to scan both approaches to the study of marketing ethics and the major issues addressed in that field of inquiry. In his preface, Brenkert asserts the desire to "not follow the path of previous books on the ethics of marketing" (viii) in presenting a range of ethical theories and applying one or another of these theories to moral problems. He believes such an approach is extemal to the marketing arena and fails to come to grips with "the ethical complexities of the problems marketers face" (viii). He prefers an approach that begins with marketplace situations and attempts to bring out the range of moral implications associated with each. While principles derived from moral philosophy help resolve moral problems (much as economic theory may guide a pricing decision), they are not a sufficient basis for judgment or action. Rather, the facts of a situation, the feelings of those involved, and marketing principles play a more significant role in identifying and responding to those moral implications. At the risk of pushing his perspective overly far, one anticipates an organic treatise on marketing as intrinsically moral. Our review of this effort is a layered one that opens by considering three fundamental stages of analysis: (1) the significance of marketing in our society and the need to bring a moral perspective to it; (2) altemative ways in which scholars...