Laying Foundations for an Emerging Field: A Commentary on Shelby Hunt’s Research on Marketing Ethics

The focus of my comments is on Shelby’s research on marketing ethics, with particular attention to the Hunt-Vitell theory (or model) of ethics. However, it is important to place this research in the broader context of his work, not least because this informs our understanding of his more specific contributions in marketing ethics. So, for example, not only do we find the same careful craftsmanship, from conceptualization through to execution of his papers, we also find Shelby’s approach guided by his perspective on the philosophy of science. While for some it might be characterized as overly positivist, for others it is an approach that brings clarity and greater certainty to an uncertain domain.