Abstract
This research assesses the impact of culture on sales ethics in Germany and Mexico on twolevels. Level one deals with the national conception of sales ethics, and level two deals with
salespeople’s propensity to behave ethically or unethically. As a result of the literature re-
view, the research develops three hypotheses: H1) the general understanding of ethical and
unethical sales is similar in Germany and Mexico, H2) the acceptance of ethical and uneth-
ical sales varies between Germany and Mexico, H3) the propensity for salespeople to behave
ethically and unethically differs in Germany and Mexico.
From an interpretivist paradigm, this research takes an abductive approach to theory devel-
opment, a research design with traces of grounded theory, and a cross-sectional time horizon.
In this mono-method qualitative study, empirical data was obtained through 15 semi-struc-
tured interviews with sales experts from Germany and Mexico, as well as an external point
of view of business ethics and compliance experts from other countries. Validity and relia-
bility, as well as ethical considerations, were pertained.
Hypothesis one was validated, indicating that Germany and Mexico share a general under-
standing of sales ethics. Results reveal that all experts similarly define business ethics, em-
brace shared global values such as honesty and respect and condemn unethical values such
as greed. In the countries, similar laws on business and sales ethics, as well as codes of ethics,
are established. Their shared goal of sales ethics is persisting customer relationships and
long-term business success. Hypothesis two could also be verified, which supports that the
acceptance of ethical and unethical sales varies between Germany and Mexico. Several fac-
tors, including the moral environment, economic condition, culture, legislative framework
and enforcement, upbringing and family, education, tradition, gender, religion, and political
standpoints, contribute to cultural relativism in sales ethics. Hypothesis three was only partly
validated. Mexican salespeople seemed to be more vulnerable to unethical behavior due to
political, economic, and cultural conditions. Yet, the awareness of this issue led to strictly
ensuring compliance with ethical standards in sales. German sales employees were con-
fronted with the same ethical challenges in corruption, the pressure to sell, and the daily
work of sales employees, which must be addressed nationally. They use similar approaches,
such as leadership, training, and reporting to handle ethics. However, cultural variations
must be considered in communication and the enforcement of consequences.
| Date of Award | 2023 |
|---|---|
| Original language | Spanish |
| Awarding Institution |
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| Supervisor | Osmar Ernesto Arandia Pérez (Asesor) |