The Impact of International Gray Marketing on Consumers and Firms

This article examines the relationship of marketing ethics, as a subset of business ethics, to international gray markets for consumer goods and, thus, addresses a gap in the gray marketing and international marketing literatures. The paper first briefly covers gray markets and provides examples of gray market consumer goods. It then presents a framework through a discussion of marketing ethics and identification of marketing ethics issues relative to gray marketing. The third section addresses the relationship of the external authorized channel and causes of gray marketing with reference to marketing ethics and cross-cultural effects. Finally, implications for consumers, authorized firms, and society in general are given.