Electronic Commerce Ethics: The Business Ethics Practices applied by Online Sellers in Qatar

Abstract

Introduction: As technologies advance, the market takes a step forward and becomes accessible to everyone through the Internet. Especially with the past pandemic of COVID-19, plenty of entrepreneurs joined the online business industry. This study focuses on the business ethics practices of online sellers in Qatar. Methodology: Using a quantitative descriptive research design, a survey questionnaire was made and validated. The researchers chose 100 online sellers in Qatar using purposive and quota sampling and distributed the research instrument. Result: This study discusses the business ethics used by online sellers, which are Security, Privacy, Non-Deception, and Reliability. Furthermore, the studys results show the level at which online sellers execute these business ethics in electronic commerce. It was found that Reliability is the highest business ethic applied by online sellers in Qatar overall, followed by Privacy, Security, and then Non-Deception. Discussion: The conclusion drawn from this study states that most businesses in Qatar practice a high level of business ethics. However, there was also a difference in the online sellers practice of business ethics according to their demographic profile. Regarding age, the older the respondents, the higher they applied business ethics. In terms of sex, there was a minor to no correlation between gender and online ethical behavior. Finally, in terms of the length of business operation, the longer the business is operated, the higher its owner applied business ethics. Recommendation: It is recommended that online sellers in Qatar maintain or improve the practice of business ethics in electronic commerce to benefit their business and their consumers.