Ethical climate and job satisfaction among organizational buyers: an empirical study

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between ethical climate and facets of job satisfaction among organizational buyers. Design/methodology/approach – This research is an empirical study. Data are collected from the industrial buyers using online panel. The INDSALES scale, the scale developed to measure job satisfaction of boundary spanners, was used to measure the job satisfaction. Partial least squares, a components-based structural equation modeling approach, was employed to conduct data analysis. Findings – The key finding was that buyer’s organizational policy mediates the relationship between buyers’ perception of ethical climate and buyers’ satisfaction with pay and promotion as well as satisfaction with coworkers and supervisors. The findings also show that work satisfaction can be achieved at different levels based on particular components associated to the work environment. Practical implications – The role of ethical climate in this study offers insights into managers who constantly observe lower levels of job satisfaction among their buying team. Given that companies specify rules and regulations as a way to standardize employee behaviors and prevent unethical practices, managers must ensure that such codes specifically address issue pertaining to compensation, supervision and promotion. Originality/value – Most of the previous studies in the business-to-business boundary spanning literature address ethical climate primarily from the salesperson’s perspective. Ethical issues relating to organizational buyers in business-to-business setting has largely gone underexplored. This research is one of the few studies that focus on industrial buyers and ethical issues.