Abstract:

this study aspires to scientifically explore ethics in pharmaceutical marketing through the prism of stakeholder marketing. The study aims to identify different stakeholders and accentuate their importance in firms and how they can be involved in decision-making that affects all of them. The researcher deploys a qualitative method of inquiry to study the informants in their natural setting. Grounded theory is used as a strategy of inquiry to apply interrelated concepts and procedures to study the social phenomenon of interest. Through stratified purposive sampling, in-depth interviews were conducted with physicians and pharmaceutical companies’ sales managers. The interviews were transcribed and analyzed through a grounded theory coding process. A single theme emerged after the highest abstraction which is “Contemporary Pharmaceutical Marketing Practices” with four categories such as promotional campaigns, products inducements, inappropriate marketing strategies, and concealing drugs-related adverse effects. It is suggested that firms can adopt the stakeholder marketing perspective if they identify and recognize the importance of all stakeholders; inquired about their issues and what they expect from the firms, and finally involved them in all decision processes.    

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