Pharmaceutical Marketing Ethics: Ethical Standards for More Acceptable Practices

Objectives: To evaluate the ethics of pharmaceutical marketing practices in Sana’a city, Yemen. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 400 physicians and 50 pharmaceutical companies in the period from March to August 2018. Data about pharmaceutical marketing ethics were collected from physicians and pharmaceutical companies using two types of self-administrated, structured questionnaires. Data were analyzed with appropriate statistical tests using IBM SPSS Statistics, version 21.0. Results: The majority of physicians (60.0%) agreed that medical samples had been used most frequently as a promotional tool for pharmaceutical marketing, followed by gifts (14.0%). More than half of physicians were satisfied with the way of pharmaceutical marketing in Yemen. Personal relationships and medical samples and gifts were the factors affecting their prescriptions, being reported by about a third of physicians each. Meanwhile, most physicians (44.0%) preferred medical conferences and exhibitions as a promotional benefit to be gotten for prescribing the company’s products. The majority of physicians (62.0%) agreed that the availability of medical samples affect their prescriptions, and about 28.2% of physicians reported that all medical samples are used by their patients. Most physicians (37.0%) perceived that only 50% of medical representatives respond well to their queries related to marketed drugs, and 41.5% of physicians agreed that global companies are more compliant with ethical marketing. About 60% of the physicians reported not facing unethical promotions, and the majority (54.0%) agreed that unethical pharmaceutical marketing is the responsibility of companies, physicians, and representatives. There was a statistically significant difference in the proportion of drug prescriptions affected by medical representative visits and availability of medical samples on prescription in relation to the work experience of physicians. On the other hand, there was a statistically significant difference in facing an unethical promotion offered by companies for prescribing their products and the attribution of unethical pharmaceutical marketing in relation to the type of medical profession of physicians. Conclusions: Pharmaceutical marketing in Yemen still depends on traditional tools, with the lack of ethical guidelines or codes for pharmaceutical marketing in the country. Work experience and medical profession of physicians can significantly affect pharmaceutical marketing. The spread of unethical marketing is the responsibility of pharmaceutical companies, physicians and medical representatives. Therefore, it is recommended to develop well-defined and updated ethical standards and national guidelines for pharmaceutical marketing by the Ministry of Public Health and Population. Furthermore, official campaigns should be regularly carried out to control and restrict unethical promotion. Further studies on the ethics of pharmaceutical marketing are also recommended. Pharmaceutical companies should continuously train their medical representatives and provide physicians with the latest medical knowledge about new drugs. Keywords: Pharmaceutical marketing, Ethics, IFPMA guidelines, Sana’a

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Marketing ethics and the marketing mix: Managerial issues

South African Journal of Business Management ◽

10.4102/sajbm.v20i3.948 ◽

1989 ◽

Vol 20 (3) ◽

pp. 95-100 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

R. Abratt

Keyword(s):

High Pressure ◽

Marketing Mix ◽

Marketing Ethics ◽

Ethical Standards ◽

Distribution Costs ◽

Standards Of Conduct

Marketing, more so than any other business discipline, has been criticized by people for hurting consumers, society as a whole, and other business firms. Deceptive prices, high advertising and distribution costs, high-pressure selling and unsafe products are common complaints. This article reviews some of the issues involved. It deals with marketing ethics and its problems and then discusses the role of ethics in the marketing mix. The article calls for marketers to adhere to ethical standards of conduct or face the consequences.

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The Impact of Marketing Ethics on Customer Loyalty: A Conceptual Framework

International Journal of Business Ethics and Governance ◽

10.51325/ijbeg.v3i2.25 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 3 (2) ◽

pp. 1-12

Author(s):

Rami M. M. Nassar ◽

Mohamed Battour

Keyword(s):

Customer Satisfaction ◽

Conceptual Framework ◽

Customer Loyalty ◽

Gaza Strip ◽

Marketing Ethics ◽

Ethical Standards ◽

Ethical Behaviors ◽

The Gaza Strip ◽

The Impact ◽

Israeli Occupation

The purpose of this study is to develop a conceptual framework to identify the impact of marketing ethics on customer loyalty by reviewing the most relevant previous literature on this topic. Moreover, focus on the reality of marketing ethics in the two mobile phone companies operating in Palestine, namely Jawwal and Ooredoo Palestine, by focusing on the Palestinian environment, which is characterized by political and economic instability, due to the Israeli occupation of Palestine since 1948 as well as the Palestinian apart between the two parts of the homeland (the West Bank and the Gaza Strip) and the Israeli siege on the Gaza Strip. Hence, it is expected that this study will constitute a valuable reference for these two companies to develop their marketing and ethical behaviors. Accordingly, the impact of customer satisfaction on the marketing and ethical performance of these two companies and the services provided by them is investigated for the sake of developing their marketing plans and developing ethical standards compatible with the Palestinian society, and then increasing the company's profits that can be achieved through customer satisfaction with their services and gaining their loyalty.

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Ethical standards and perceptions of CRM among millennial consumers

International Marketing Review ◽

10.1108/imr-05-2019-0125 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 37 (5) ◽

pp. 863-884 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

David Cosgrave ◽

Michele O'Dwyer

Keyword(s):

United Arab Emirates ◽

Marketing Ethics ◽

Ethical Standards ◽

Structured Interviews ◽

Convenience Sample ◽

Content Type ◽

Postgraduate Students ◽

Cause Related Marketing ◽

Developing Markets ◽

Role Of Religion

PurposeThis study explores the millennial perceptions of cause-related marketing (CRM) in international markets through the lens of an ethical continuum. Literature gaps exist in our understanding of cause-related marketing, ethics and millennials in an international context, with few studies offering insights into successful CRM campaigns in developed vs developing countries. Previous studies have yielded differing responses based on culture, sociodemographic and consumer perceptions.Design/methodology/approachAn exploratory qualitative research method was adopted to build the theory necessary to address this research gap. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with a convenience sample of 155 undergraduate and postgraduate students representing 17 nationalities. Interviews were conducted in two regions (Ireland and United Arab Emirates) representing developed and developing markets.FindingsDiscrepancies exist between millennial consumers when it comes to ethical self-reporting, perceptions of CRM initiatives, choice criteria of CRM offers and purchase intentions. Findings also suggest that there is a relationship between the religious and ethical beliefs of millennials in certain regions. Gender showed no significant differences in perceptions of CRM.Originality/valueThis study examines millennial perceptions of CRM from multiple nationalities in developed vs developing markets. It introduces the ethical continuum in international CRM as a lens to examine perceptions of millennial consumers. The study identifies that millennials should not be treated as a homogenous group, suggesting different choice criteria of millennial consumers based on their ethical standards. It demonstrates emerging support for the role of religion in successful adoption of CRM.

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