It is contended that we are all living in a transitional economy and given the implications of globalisation and information technologies for business and commerce, no economic system displays stability (Barclay, 2003:315).
The Internet poses fundamental challenges to issues central to society, namely free speech, privacy and national sovereignty. With the advent of e-commerce, it brings with it a host of ethical issues surrounding customer privacy. The topic of protecting individual and corporate privacy as a major ethical issue, has triggered a wave of governmental legislation and has created an entire segment of Internet industry firms whose mission is to help consumers protect sensitive and personal data on the web (Sarathy,2003, 111).
Privacy violations, pornography, transaction security breaches, unsolicited e-mail and other questionable or illegal activities being conducted on-line have become serious issues. Some see regulation as the only answer to protection from unwelcome intrusion. However, due to the universal nature of the Internet, regulation will be extremely difficult, if not impossible (Peeples, 2002:27).
It is believed that ethical issues involving Internet marketing are basically the same as in other forms of marketing. If a firm has been able to gain the confidence of the consumer through demonstrated fair practices, the same level of confidence should be imputed to the e-transaction. The real challenge is for the true "virtual business" that lacks the traditional brick and mortar image of stability and consumer access (Peeples, 2002:32).
As more "bricks and mortar" firms use e-commerce as a channel of distribution in their industries, personalization and customer information is becoming increasingly important in a firm's marketing strategies, with privacy protection becoming an important factor. As more firms rely increasingly on individualized customer information to achieve marketing success, they will seek flexibility and speed of response in using such data. Under these circumstances, firms might implement self-regulation as a means of preserving their edge in fast-changing environments, rather than concur with government-set privacy regulations (Sarathy,2003, 113).
Many individuals have perceived a lack of regulation as an opportunity to engage in conduct that raises serious ethical questions. It is this concept of self-regulation that affords the greatest opportunity for ethical growth. It forces Internet companies to think about their attitudes regarding consumer privacy, to decide whether or not they will disclose their policies, and to determine what sort of protections they put into place. More and more web sites have risen to the challenge and have been posting privacy policies (Maury, 2002:21).
Generally accepted guides to ethical behavior are being developed and adopted by professional organizations. These guidelines often have common themes such as customer consent to the dissemination of their private information. Since social responsibility has become expected by the general public, firms are being forced to subscribe to at least the minimum standards or run the risk of going out of business (Peeples, 2002:32).
Barclay, J.et al. 2003. "Business ethics and the transitional economy: A tale of two modernities". Journal of Business Ethics. Vol.46, Iss.2.
Maury, M and Kleiner, D. 2002. "E-commerce, ethical commerce?". Journal of Business Ethics. Vol.36, Iss.1.
Peeples, D. 2002. "Instilling consumer confidence in e-commerce". Advanced Management Journal. Vol.67, Iss.4.
Sarathy, R and Robertson, C. 2002. "Strategic and ethical considerations in managing digital privacy". Journal of Business Ethics Vol.46, Iss.2.
Anna Caldwell 19:17, 26 Oct 2005 (EST)
