Toward a theory of marketing law transgressions

An area that has seen relatively little attention in the marketing arena is marketing related law and in particular, research that addresses why firms transgress marketing law. Since the 1970s, a number of theories regarding the determinants of unethical and illegal firm behavior have been developed within marketing and other disciplines. However, empirical testing of these models provides results that are often contradictory and inconclusive. Significantly, previous empirical research fails to link previous transgressions with intent to engage in future transgressions, instead viewing transgressing the law as a static process. This research develops and tests a model of transgressing marketing law that links past transgression and intent to transgress in the future through the concept of control. The results show that while firm performance has little effect, it a lack of control (penalties, reward, risk perceptions and existence of compliance programs) that influences illegal behavior.