Ethics and cause related marketing: five major ethical conflicts

This article aims at reviewing the literature of ethics applied to business and its communication. It investigates the concept of Corporate Social Responsibility, emphasizing Cause Related Marketing (CRM). This article provides some explanations of ethics and business ethics. Business ethics utilizes the ethics guidance to develop guidelines and rules to be applied in the marketplace. Furthermore, the article discusses five major ethical conflicts that can occur in partnerships between corporations and non-profit organisations. Ethical conflicts are likely to happen in CRM because the organisations involved have different objectives and goals. CRM does not have clear-cut rules and codes of conduct. This article approaches some basic principles which once followed will minimize the pitfalls. This study also analyses the arising circumstances of negative reactions from the consumers and media when the ethical conduct is neglected. Thus, CRM can lead to bad results, mainly for the organisations. Although, when ethical principles and guidelines are followed CRM appears to be an efficient marketing tool that can promote the companies as well as good causes