Predicting Bangladeshi financial salespeople ' s ethical intentions and behaviour using the theory of planned behaviour

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine whether the theory of planned behavior (TPB) can be used to explain financial salespeople ' s ethical selling intentions and behaviour in developing countries. Understanding salespeople ' s ethical intentions and behaviour is important as consumers in developing countries are more at risk of ethical abuse arising from higher information asymmetry, their lower levels of financial literacy and less effective services regulation relating to ethical sales practices. Developing countries also have fewer governmental social support mechanisms, making the purchase of insurance more important for protecting consumers ' financial well-being. Design/methodology/approach – The paper examines 205 Bangladeshi financial salespeople ' s ethical selling intentions and behaviour using the TPB. Structural equation modeling is used to analyze the constructs and overall model. Findings – The findings identify that attitudes, subjective norms and perceived behaviour control (PBC) affect ethical selling intentions which, in turn, predict salespeople ' s ethical sales behaviour. However, PBC does not directly relate to ethical sales behaviour. Research limitations/implications – Understanding of the determinants of financial salespeople ' s ethical selling intentions and behaviour is important for firms in developing countries and identifies that they need to develop effective management systems and foster organisational cultures that engender ethical behaviour. This is important in developing countries where ethical abuses and lapses will result in harm to consumers who have limited financial resources. Originality/value – The results identify that the TPB applies to the selling of financial services in developing countries and, thus, broadens the applications and contexts of the TPB model. It also provides some managerial guidance as to how potential ethical breaches might be limited.