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Ethical Marketing - MAN00020I

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  • Department: The York Management School
  • Credit value: 20 credits
  • Credit level: I
  • Academic year of delivery: 2022-23

Module summary

This module looks at ethical marketing in a range of organisational types from a global perspective.

Module will run

Occurrence Teaching period
A Spring Term 2022-23 to Summer Term 2022-23

Module aims

This module looks at ethical marketing in a range of organisational types from a global perspective. It
aims to develop student’s critical understanding of:

  • The need to build up long-term, trusting relationships with customers and various stakeholder groups in an age of increasing media specialisation and increasing criticisms of marketing from a range of stakeholders.
  • The role of ethical marketing strategies in the legitimacy and credibility of the organisation.
  • The various tools of ethical marketing and how they can be used to change consumer behaviour and enhance sustainability.
  • The opportunities and challenges of implementing ethical marketing across national, linguistic and cultural borders.

Module learning outcomes

Subject content

  • A critical awareness of the changing ethical context of global marketing.
  • An understanding of ethical theory and its relationship to ethical marketing
  • A systematic understanding and knowledge of ethical marketing theories and concepts.
  • Ability to synthesise a range of ethical marketing theories.
  • Research methods appropriate to the academic study of marketing, business and management
  • Academic and graduate skills

Students will develop the skills to:

  • Apply ethical marketing concepts to a range of real-life organisational types to enhance marketing decision making.
  • Demonstrate critical awareness of the implementation of different ethical marketing approaches in a global context.
  • Demonstrate ability to conduct research into marketing, business and management issues
  • Present and discuss ideas in public and to work in groups.

Other learning outcomes (if applicable)

  • Ability to write a concise fully referenced consultancy report using both relevant library resources and company sources.
  • Demonstrate ability to work both independently and in teams, set goals, and complete tasks within deadlines.
  • Produce logical and structured arguments supported by relevant evidence.

Module content

Indicative lecture Topics:
The changing nature of the ethical issues in the global marketing environment.
Foundations of ethical marketing including; sustainable development and corporate social responsibility
Branches of ethical marketing e.g. green marketing, social marketing, sustainability marketing
Ethical theories and decision making.
An ethical basis for Relationship Marketing.
Cause-related marketing.
Ethical consumerism, segmentation of markets and new consumption communities.

Indicative assessment

Task % of module mark
Essay/coursework 100

Special assessment rules

None

Indicative reassessment

Task % of module mark
Essay/coursework 100

Module feedback

Students will receive written feedback on the formative assessment. They will also receive a feedback sheet with detailed comments on their summative assessment. Turnaround time for summative assessment is 6 weeks. At the end of term the module leader will develop a report on the module which, once approved by the Board of Exams, will be uploaded onto VLE and made accessible to the students.

Indicative reading

Indicative textbooks:

Eagle, L. & Dahl, S. (2015), Marketing Ethics & Society, Sage.

Belz, F. M. and Peattie, K. (2010) Sustainability Marketing: A Global Perspective (Second Edition). Chichester: Wiley.

Brenkert, G. G. (2008) Marketing Ethics (Foundations of Business Ethics). Wiley-Blackwell.

Murphy, P. E., Laczniak, G. R. and Protheroe, A. (2012) Ethics in Marketing - International Cases and Perspectives. Routledge.

Crane. A & Matten. D (2016), Business Ethics: Managing Corporate Citizenship and Sustainability in the Age of Globalization (4th ed.), Oxford University Press.

Harrison, R, Newholm, T and Shaw, D. (2005), The Ethical Consumer. London: Sage Publications UK.

Indicative Journals:

Journal of Business Ethics
Journal of Marketing
Journal of Strategic Marketing
Journal of Macromarketing
European Journal of Marketing
Journal of Consumer Studies


The information on this page is indicative of the module that is currently on offer. The University constantly explores ways to enhance and improve its degree programmes and therefore reserves the right to make variations to the content and method of delivery of modules, and to discontinue modules, if such action is reasonably considered to be necessary. In some instances it may be appropriate for the University to notify and consult with affected students about module changes in accordance with the University's policy on the Approval of Modifications to Existing Taught Programmes of Study.