The discerning customer and the political economy : why do firms keep surviving the corporate ethical crisis?

Abstract

The primary goal of this paper is to measure respondents’ perceived knowledge of the main principles of corporate ethical behaviour such as human resource management, the quality of products, labeling and social responsibility on a Purchaser intention survey. The outcome was cross-checked with the participant´s place of residence and family size. The secondary purpose was to uncover the disposition against monopolies in certain areas and to find out more about consumer experiences regarding ethical corporate conduct. Thirdly, the research aims to relate the survey’s outcome to the legal environment, Iceland’s recent economic status, and the financial crisis in 2008. The outcome of the survey indicated, that ethical awareness does not necessarily mean unification against unethical firms.